


Costumes and romances

by Lisa_Lisa



Category: One Piece
Genre: Blood and Injury, Christmas Fluff, Cunnilingus, Denial of Feelings, Desk Sex, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, First Time Blow Jobs, Flirting, Friendship, Frottage, Jealousy, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Morning After, Office Sex, Rated E for chapter 15 and onwards, Reader is a casanova for his unrequired love, Reader-Insert, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Tension, Shower Sex, Slow Build, Smut, Swimming Pools, Vaginal Sex, Valentine's Day, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2018-09-24 15:35:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 150,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9768323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisa_Lisa/pseuds/Lisa_Lisa
Summary: You are in love with Corazon, the owner of a modest but awesome costume shop, but there is a little problem: he has fallen hard for the doctor Trafalgar Law.However, wanting to keep your friendship with Corazon, you swallow back your feelings and do your best to make those two end together, while dealing with your two crazy but funny coworkers who are also in love but in denial, your best friend and roommate that still wants to pair you with Corazon, and with Corazon's older brother who appears after several years of being absent and who seems to have quite an interest in you.





	1. The message

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Coffee Shop](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3707769) by [pandacheeze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandacheeze/pseuds/pandacheeze). 



> First of all, I have to say that the idea of this fic came to me after reading the fanfic [_The Coffee Shop_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3707769/chapters/8206479) written by [pandacheeze](http://archiveofourown.org/users/pandacheeze/pseuds/pandacheeze) (fic that it’s a MUST if you like the pair Corazon/Law because it’s simply marvelous *_*).
> 
> As it says in the summary, in this fic the Female Reader falls in love with Corazon who, at the same time, has fallen for Law. As it is indicated in the tags, the Reader’s love for Corazon is going to be one-sided, buuuut that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t eventually fall for someone quite related to Corazon... 
> 
> Also, besides the Corazon/Law pair there will be more One Piece pairs in the background (obviously, Bartolomeo/Cavendish is one among those pairs ^^) that will be eventually appearing, so I’ll be updating the tags accordingly :) 
> 
> And that’s all. I have to warn that this is the first time that I write a Reader fic so I’ll do my best not to turn the Female Reader into a Mary Sue and writing it acceptably right ^^U 
> 
> _A/N: I consider that the reader is 24 years old, and so it is Rebecca :)_

**_[I need to talk to you about something]_ **

After reading Corazon's message, your (e/c) eyes almost pop out from their sockets and your heart begins to beat rapidly inside your chest.

‘Okay girl’, you say to yourself, ‘breathe deeply. You still don’t know what the hell he is meaning so DON’T YOU DARE to U let your hopes up yet.’

With your trembling fingers you answer the message.

**_[Hope it isn’t something bad(?!) ô_ôU]_ **

You fix your gaze in the broken screen of your mobile that you haven’t had time to fix yet.

Shortly a set of quick messages pop out.

**_[Hahaha. Nothing bad ;)]_ **

**_[But it’s something I prefer to tell you face to face]_ **

**_[Can you come today to the shop a little earlier?]_ **

By then, your heart is dancing samba inside your chest.

Damn, you really don’t want to let your hopes up but Corazon is making that task difficult with those cryptic messages.

You take another deep breath, deciding to try to calm yourself down and not to think yet about the possibility that your almost-two-years crush could really love you back.

**_[(y/n)? Are you still there?]_ **

Crap! You have spaced out!

**_[Yep]_ **

**_[Sorry, my stupid mobile had closed the msg app]_ **

**_[Okay, I’ll be in the shop at 3.30 =D]_ **

The answer comes almost immediately.

**_[Thanks, (y/n) :)]_ **

No more messages arrive.

You gulp loudly and keep staring at the now black screen of your mobile for several seconds. until you hear Rebecca calling you from the kitchen.

“(y/n)! Lunch is ready!”

“I-I’m coming!”, you answer a little nervously.

You stand up from the desk of your room and close the lip of the laptop where you have been finishing an assignment just before Corazon sent you that nerve-wrecking message.

When you arrive at the small living room Rebecca is already carrying a couple of plates to the table.

“I hope not having used too much salt”, the girls says while you take a seat on the table absentmindedly, “I’m not sure if I put it twice so be prepared to drink a lot of water in that cas…”

Rebecca shuts up and looks at you with a worried expression.

“Oh my, (y/n), you’re pale like a ghost!”

When hearing your friend speak with such concern you immediately focus again.

“S-Sorry”, you force a smile and wave your hand exaggeratedly, “I’m fine. Just a little stressed with my last assignement and…”

At that moment your mobile begins to sound and you exhale a shocked cry before grabbing it hurriedly.

“Corazon?!”, you exclaim automatically, but you grunt in disappointment while separating your mobile from your ear when hearing that annoyingly loud voice that definitely didn’t belong to Corazon, “damn it, Barto, stop shouting, I’m not deaf! What is it now?...Aha…Aha, so you two have fought _again_...What?! No! I’m not going to speak to Cavendish!…Look, I’m tired that you both put me in the middle of all your fights! What am I, your mother?!...* _sigh_ * Okay, but this will be the _last time_ , you hear me?...Kay, see you this afternoon”

You hang up and exhale a loud sigh.

“Those two are going to drive me crazy, jeez. What are they? Five years old?”

You are about to keep protesting about your two idiots friends when you realize that Rebecca is looking at you with an eyebrow quirked up in amusement.

“Corazon?”

You blush. Shit, you had the hope that Rebecca hadn’t realized your previous mistake.

“(y/n), are you sure that your stress is due to your assignement?”

After considering your options, you let out a defeated sigh before deciding that it’s useless to try to fool Rebecca.

“Okay, look at this”

You offer your mobile to Rebecca, who begins to read the messages that you have just received.

“Wait…”, Rebecca looks at you with her eyes open wide, “…does that mean that maybe he…?”

“I don’t know what it means but until I talk to him I’m not going to think about it too much”, you says hurriedly, almost hysterically.

Rebecca smiles and leans over the table to settle a hand over your arm as a support. You smile back at her. You had met the girl five years ago when starting the University. Your careers couldn’t be more different (you were a Computer Engineer and she was a teacher) but you had got along extremely well from the start, had become best friends in no time and for that reason in the second year of the University you two decided to share an apartment and there you were now.

 “Well, but even if you don’t know if I were you I would dress properly for the possible occasion. Just in case”

You can’t help to laugh when hearing Rebecca’s advice.

“Sorry, you know what a disaster I am. I don’t have anything in my wardrobe to dress ‘properly’”

“That’s not a problem: I can lend you some of my clothes”

“Sorry, but I have something called ‘waist’ that stops me from wearing your clothes”

“Hey, what are you meaning with that?!”

You both keep teasing each other during the whole lunch and in the blink of an eye you are with your coat on about to leave the apartment towards the shop, your nervousness coming back.

“You sure you don’t want to wear makeup?”, Rebecca asks teasingly when you are already opening the door to leave, “I can make you look extremely sexy in just five minutes so…”

“Bye, Becca”, you answers instead, causing the girl to chuckle before adding a sincere ‘ _Good luck_ ’ with an encouraging smile that you immediately returns.

* * *

Even if Corazon’s costume shop is a ten minutes walk from your apartment this time you feel that the distance is horribly longer, and with every step you make towards your destination the nervous weight settled in the pit of your stomach becomes heavier.

You arrive at the place before the accorded hour and your heart almost stops when you distinguish the big figure of Corazon through the shop window, already in the counter and looking as distracted as usual.

You lean your back against the building wall and take a deep breath, uselessly trying to calm your racing heart now that the moment of talking to Corazon has finally come.

Definitely you have fallen hard for the man. You met him in January of the last year, when you and your friends went to buy some costumes for Carnaval, and at first, you thought that he was a weirdo. After all who in the world wore that kind of make-up and that pink-shaped-heart shirt as an everyday thing? And sorry, but working on a costume shop wasn’t enough explanation to be looking the way he did.

However, your impression of him changed almost instantly with the way Corazon helped you choose the most suitable costumes together with the best but still relatively cheap accessories.

Besides, he didn’t mind at all when your friends (but specially you because you have always been more than a little indecisive) suddenly changed your mind and decided to go for a completely different costume, making the whole selection process restart once again.

In fact, instead of looking annoyed Corazon felt enthusiastic, running towards the back shop to grab more and more costumes while almost stumbling clumsily in the process because, as you learnt that day, even if Corazon seemed to be a serious, smoker and quiet 1,93m man, he was a extremely kind person who loved his work and who could end becoming goofy when he got too involved with it.

You smile to yourself and sigh. Probably you liked him since the beginning, but it took you a little more to realize it, and when you began to purposely change your usual itinerary to go to the university just to pass by the shop, you stopped lying to yourself and accepted your feelings.

And then, two months after that carnival party, you came back because you had decided to prepare a costume party for Rebecca’s birthday, who immediately detected your crush on Corazon even if the only thing you did was to mention him a couple of times (or well, maybe more than a couple and for that reason Rebecca discovered it).

And then, you came back two months after that because you wanted ideas for a Halloween costume even if it was still May.

And then, in summer when you came back with another lame excuse, Corazon offered you a part-time job in his shop because he was overjoyed that you liked costumes as much as him, and of course even if the main reason for liking the costumes was _him_ you immediately accepted.

And then, suddenly, summer was over but you kept working there, in charge of the web site of the shop that you yourself suggested to create after discovering that Corazon maintained the inventory of his shop by writing manually all the goods, and that the folder that stored all that rather important information was about to overflow.

And now, the result was that you were more focused on working on the shop of the man who occupied most part of your thoughts than finishing your more and more forgotten master. Thank goodness that Rebecca paid half of the rent because otherwise you wouldn’t be able to do it with you earnings, even if what Corazon paid you was much more than you would receive in any other shop.

You sigh again and close your eyes. Damn, could it really be that Corazon liked you too? Okay, it was improbable. After all the man was 39 and you were just 24, so you have always assumed that he looked you as a child, though truth to be told those were assumptions of yours.

And well, it was true that Corazon had a lot of details with you: in your birthday he gave you a rather flashy bracelet as a present, that was the only jewel that you wore, and in Christmas he sent you a postcard with a fluffy winter hat that you were in fact wearing at that moment even if it was just September, but Corazon was nice with _everyone_ , and you knew perfectly that ‘being nice’ has nothing to do with ‘being in love with’. But still jeez, that cryptic message could still mean that he maybe-

“Oh, you’ve come early”

You exhale a rather undignified cry while jumping when suddenly hearing Corazon’s voice extremely close. Crap, you have spaced out _again_ for several minutes and you haven’t realized that Corazon has left the shop and was just next to you.

“Sorry! I didn’t want to scare you”, Corazon smiles apologetically and settles a hand on your shoulder, “are you okay?”

“Y-Yes, don’t worry”, you manage to answer, your heart beating at a rather dangerous rhythm because of the shock, and Corazon’s warm hand on your shoulder doesn’t help to make you calmer, “I-I was just lost in my deep meditations and haven’t heard you arrive”

Corazon chuckles and removes his hand from your shoulder. Damn it, how the hell that red lipstick could make a smile look so sexy in him? You still didn’t understand it.

“Do you want to enter already?”, Corazon suggests, “Now that we are alone we could talk before Bartolomeo and Cavendish arrive”

You honestly fear that Corazon can hear your heart (no pun intended) at that moment. And damn why the hell Corazon looks suddenly so nervous?! He is scratching the back of his head and he is obviously avoiding looking at you!

“O-Okay. Let’s go!”, you say in a high-pitched tone that sounds horrible to your own ears.

You enter the shop and Corazon helps you remove your coat (that chivalry was another thing that made you fall hard for him). You follow him where the counter is and hold your breath when the man leans against it facing you, his thumbs inside the pockets of his white jeans.

After a brief pause, Corazon sighs and begins to speak.

“(y/n)…”, you feel your knees go weak when he says your name while fixing his brown eyes on you, “as I’ve told you in the message, there is something that you must know”

You gulp.

“And you promised that it wouldn’t be anything bad”

You make that comment because right now the tension between you two was too much, and it seems that it helps to relax a little the mood because Corazon exhales a chuckle and smiles.

“Yes, it’s nothing bad, but it’s something that it’s been rounding my head for several months and I can’t hold it in any longer”, it’s Corazon turn to gulp, “and I can’t keep hiding it from you. Not anymore”

You gulp again. Louder.

This couldn’t be happening.

There was no way that this could be happening but damn, his words right now looked as if it was indeed happening!

“Okay”, you manage to somehow find your voice to answer, “shoot”

Corazon smiles again when hearing your reply and then, his low voice resounds in the now completely silent room.

“I’ve fallen in love…”

Your heart literally stops for a moment.

Oh god.

Oh god, it _had happened_!

Corazon loved you back! Corazon was just confessing and…

“…with a man”

And you feel your heart break in a thousandth pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the summary it was rather evident what was going to happen, poor reader...  
> Comments will be greatly appreciated <3 ^^


	2. Friendzoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corazon tells you how he fell for Trafalgar Law and you take a masochist decision.

It takes you a couple of seconds to realize that Corazon is still talking really hurriedly, as if he was nervous as hell, so you somehow manage to push back the lump that makes you feel your throat really tight and itchy and interrupts Corazon’s frantic monologue.

“W-Wait, wait a minute”, your voice sounds a little faltering at first so you clear your throat to speak again, “okay, what if you slow down like a couple of hundred of revolutions and start again?”

You decide to use your sense of humor because you know that in case of asking seriously, it’s really, _really_ probable that you do something stupid. As stupid as crying just in front of the man that has just broken your heart without even noticing.

“Okay, sorry”

Corazon offers you a nervous smile (jeez, why the hell he has to be so handsome while smiling…) and scratches the back of his head before talking again with a speed that you are now able to follow, although you wish you weren’t since you know that it’s going to hurt.

“Okay, you remember when two months ago I sprained my ankle and I had to go to the hospital?”

You nod.

“I remember. It was when you tried to lift those heavy boxes by yourself and one of them fell on your feet”

“Yes, that time. Well, the thing is that when I went to the hospital I had assumed that I was going to be laughed at, either by my peculiar appearance or by my ridiculous reason for being there. It’s something that’s happened before and honestly, I’m already old enough not to care about it anymore. But the doctor that attended me…”

You suppress a gulp when Corazon’s eyes soften in a way you had never seen before.

“He didn’t laugh at me at any moment. He didn’t even scan me as people use to do when they see me for the first time, thing that I know it’s pretty normal, but this man simply asked me what was wrong, listened to my little lame story while nodding and without barely blinking, and when I finished he treated my wound and asked me to come back the next week. And then, just when I was about to leave”, a light blush appears on Corazon’s cheeks at that moment, “without changing his serious expression he told me: ‘ _By the way,_ _nice lipstick. Not all men can wear that with such style_ ’. And he didn’t seem to be lying. It seemed as if he honestly thought that. And well…”, Corazon smiles widely, “…I guess that I fell in love with him at that moment”

A brief silence falls and you know that it’s your turn to speak now, but you first gain a little of time nodding a couple of times while forcing back the lump that has formed again in your throat. Because damn it, what that doctor said to Corazon and that made Corazon fell for the man, you have been thinking the same _for almost two years_ ,  and you couldn’t help to think that if you had been brave enough to say it the first time you thought about it, maybe your relationship with Corazon would be different now. And knowing that maybe you had let pass the opportunity just for being shy was frustrating.

“W-Well, that’s sure what love at first sight means”, you feel rather satisfied with yourself because your voice sound almost normal, “and you’ve seen that man since then?”

Corazon nods.

“Yes, he checked my ankle almost all the times that I came back to the hospital, so I know that his name is Trafalgar Law, that he is still studying to become a surgeon and that he doesn’t like bread”

Despite the situation you can’t help to laugh with surprise when hearing the last statement.

“Wow, that last piece of information is vital to get to know a person”

Corazon chuckles as well when catching the irony in your comment.

“Well, when I invite him to dinner I know that I have to avoid using it”

Your smile freezes a little in your face despite your attempts of making it look natural.

“Oh, so are you going to ask him out?”

Corazon gulps and crosses his arms, suddenly nervous.

“Yes, tomorrow it’s the last time that I have to go to the hospital, since my ankle is practically cured, so I was planning to ask him out then. And…”, Corazon fixes his eyes on you at that moment, “…I was wondering if you would mind to accompany me”

Your mouth falls completely open.

“What? To the hospital?”

“Of course it’s okay if you don’t want to come”, Corazon says immediately, looking a little embarrassed, “it’s just that if I go alone, I think that it’s rather probable that I panic when I confess, but if you are with me I’ll be calmer for sure”

If Corazon had told you that some hours, ago you would have felt immensely happy, but now you just feel immensely frienzoned, and that makes you speak without ever thinking.

“I’m so sorry, but tomorrow I can’t”, you realize that your sentence has sounded extremely abrupt so you immediately continue excusing yourself, “I have an assignment that I have to send on Sunday. And I also promised Rebecca that I will help her to clean the apartment so…”

Corazon interrupts your babbling by shaking his head and smiling at you.

“It’s okay. I knew that probably you were going to have plans but I had to ask just in case”

Corazon really means his words and he doesn’t look upset or bothered in the least with your negative, but still you feel guilty for having lied like that.

Just when you are considering to change your answer, the door of the shop snaps open and a man with punk-looking green hair, red and yellow checkered trousers and a black-tight t-shirt stomps in, followed by another man with his blonde hair perfectly combed, denim jeans and a shirt that probably costs more than your whole wardrobe.

 “Cora-senpai!!”, the green-haired punk gets so close to Corazon that this one gives a step back against his will, looking astonished, “look, I’ll pay you all I have if you fire this bastard!”

“First of all, I really doubt that you have much to pay”, the blonde rich says with a petulant tone while crossing his arms, “And second, stop being a child already: you are acting disproportionately!”

“Oh, you think so?”, the green-haired punk turns again towards the blonde rich, “well, then how the Hell would you react if I threw away one of your ridiculous clothes?”

“Hey, don’t you dare to compare my clothes with yours! Besides, it was just a stinky coat! How in the world I had to guess that it was yours?! I thought that it was just a trash costume that we have to throw away!”

“Then you should have asked!”, the green-haired punk suddenly turns to you, “please, (y/n), help me to convince Cora-senpai to fire this asshole”

“No, (y/n), I beg you: try to convince the chief to fire _this bastard_ because he is clearly the one at fault!”

“NO, I AM NOT!”

“YES, YOU ARE!”

You exhale a deep sigh and rub your eyes. Thanks to Bartolomeo and Cavendish, it seemed that your private talk with Corazon was finally over.

* * *

At the end you managed to convince your idiot coworkers and friends that they were both at fault: Bartolomeo for having left his coat mixed with the rest of the old costumes and Cavendish for not having asked before throwing them away, so at least they stopped shouting at each other and contented themselves with glaring at each other.

With the excuse of having to make a maintenance of the website, you locked yourself in the small room of the shop that worked as an improvised office and didn’t come out until it was time to go home. Normally you were the last in abandoning the shop in order to share some minutes of amicable chat with Corazon, but this time you used (again) the excuse of the assignment and left the shop without waiting for Bartolomeo and Cavendish to join you.

In five minutes you are at home. Rebecca’s coat is hanging in the coat stand in the entrance, indicating you that the girl is at home.

You climb up the stairs that lead to both of your bedrooms. When you are in front of Rebecca’s door, you take a deep breath and knock a couple of times.

You hear Rebecca gasp from the inside and almost immediately the door has opened and Rebecca is looking at you with expectation that soon turns into a disappointment when seeing your face.

“Hasn’t it gone right?”

Suddenly you feel your eyes getting blurry and before even realizing you have begun to cry and Rebecca is hugging you with force.

Damn, you thought that you would be able to tell Rebecca the news without crying but it seemed that you have overestimated your capacity of holding back.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know”

“I have just brought chocolate-cookie ice-cream. We could put our pajamas on and eat it while watching TV and crying”

You laugh between hiccups.

“You’ve seen too many movies, Becca”

“Why? That’s what people do when being dumped, and you love chocolate-cookie ice-cream”

“…Yeah, I do”

“Then it’s decided”, Rebecca separates from you and smiles at you fondly, “wash your face, put your pajama, and join me in the sofa in five minutes or I’ll finish the ice-cream myself”

You sob and forces a trembling smile.

“Okay”

* * *

Rebecca’s eyes are opened at its maximum when you finish talking.

“So Corazon is gay?! I would have never guessed it!”

“Me neither”, you comment with irony, now that you have finally calmed down.

As Rebecca had suggested you both were sitting in the sofa with your pajamas on and a bowl of ice-cream in your hands, although you have decided that the detail of watching TV while crying could be removed from the plan.

“Maybe he is bi”, you put a ‘really?’ expression, “what? If that’s the case maybe you still have a chance!”

“I don’t think so”, you eat a special big piece of ice-cream and you are forced to swallow before talking, “you should have seen Corazon talk about that Trafalgar Law. He looked really in love”

Rebecca sighs with frustration and takes a piece of ice-cream in a rather more delicate way than you. Definitely, you would have to work hard to have such grace.

“Well, maybe that Trafalgar Law is a cretin and Corazon soon discovers that you are way better”

You roll your eyes while chuckling.

“It’s a pity that I have rejected Corazon’s petition of accompanying him. I would have met that doctor”

Something in your tone makes Rebecca half-close her eyes at you.

“Wait a minute…”, Rebecca points at you with her spoon threateningly, “you’re not thinking about helping Corazon, right?”

You gulp and try to look at Rebecca with an imperturbable expression, but you seem to fail spectacularly.

“(y/n)!”, Rebecca exclaims, “You can’t do that!”

“Why not? He has already rejected me. Well, he hasn’t rejected me because I never confessed in the first place but the thing is that we are still friends, and friends help each other, so I think that I should go with him tomorrow”

Rebecca looks at you in disbelief, but while you were ‘working’ in the office you have had plenty of time to think, and even if it is still painful to know that Corazon likes someone else, you don’t want to ruin your friendship with him, even if that means to be in the friendzone.

Besides, Corazon has done a lot for you since the beginning and now it was your turn to pay him, even if that meant that you were going to play Casanova to pair the man you loved with someone else.

“You know it’s going to hurt, right?”

You shrug. Once you made your mind, no one would be able to change it.

“Yes, I know. But if our roles were reversed, I’m sure Corazon would do the same for me”

Rebecca huffs and shows a really cute pouting expression.

“You’re a masochist. Okay, do whatever you want, but even if you have given up I haven’t, so be prepared because I’m going to make a plan to put you two together even if it is against your will. You’ve been warned!”

You laugh when hearing your friend’s threat and take your mobile from the little table in front of you two.

“I’ve been warned”, you repeat jokingly before sending a simply messages.

**_[Hi there! :) My teachers have lengthened the submission date of my assignment, so what time do you want to meet tomorrow to go to conquer your doctor’s heart?!]_ **

Barely five seconds later, your mobile sounds and when you pick up the call you can hear Corazon almost crying at the other side of the line while thanking you.

You smile to yourself.

Maybe Rebecca was right and you were a masochist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter you will meet Trafalgar Law :P And probably Cora-san will have news about certain brother of his… :)


	3. Unexpected visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally meet Trafalgar Law and someone else who doesn’t leave a very good impression on you.

When noticing the irritated glances that the people of the hospital waiting room are throwing towards your direction, you settle a hand over Corazon’s knee to make him stop the bouncing movement of his legs up and down. The unexpected contact causes Corazon to jump in his seat, thing that just worsens the glares that you are already receiving.

“Corazon, you are moving the whole bench with your legs”, you whisper.

“O-Oh, sorry”

Corazon takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. You look at him with sympathy.

“Are you okay?”, you ask, even if you already know the answer because he looks as nervous as you were the previous day when going to the shop.

Corazon exhales a nervous laugh.

“I’m beginning to think that this is not such a good idea. I mean, thinking about it we have just met half-a-dozen of times and we don’t know much about each other yet, so probably when I confess he’ll surely think that I’m a perverted old man that goes after youngsters and then he will kick me out”

You can’t help to laugh when hearing Corazon’s disconsolate speech.

“Well, yeah, maybe you are a little older than him…”

“He is 26, (y/n), I’m _thirteen_ years older than him”

‘ _Yeah, and I am 24 and I fell for you anyway_ ’, you think but obviously don’t say.

“But you look much younger”, Corazon raises a skeptic eyebrow but you ignore it and continue with a joking tone, “besides, now that you have forced me to spend my Saturday morning playing the matchmaker you are going to confess one way or the other”

Just when you are going to remove your hand from his knee (yep, it kept being there and you hadn’t realized it) Corazon suddenly grabs it, making your heart stop for a moment.

“Thank you, (y/n)”, you feel your stomach tighten when he offers you a fond smile, “I’m really glad that you are here. If you weren’t, right now I would be locked in the bathroom grabbing my head between my hands while hyperventilating”

You laugh again because of the image that Corazon’s sentence makes appear in your head.

“Don’t worry about it”, you say while waving your free hand because Corazon is _still_ sustaining your other hand, “I’ll just ask you for a pay rise and we’ll be even”

“Hey, that’s indeed a good idea!”

“Jeez, it was a joke! Don’t you dare to pay me more. Besides, the image of you lamely hyperventilating in the hospital bathroom is enough payment”

Corazon chuckles when hearing your irony but just at that moment the nurse announces his name and the man becomes pale.

“Breathe deeply”, you indicate while standing up, “just act natural and everything will be fine. And…umh…”

“Yeah?”, Corazon asks immediately, in alert.

You can’t help to blush just a little when talking next.

“Maybe it’s better if you release my hand before entering”

“Oh, sorry!”, Corazon immediately releases you, thing that you equally regret and thank, “yes, maybe if we enter while holding hands the doctor thinks that we are together and I ruin everything”

You know that Corazon hasn’t done it in purpose, but damn his words right now have hurt. However, you’re not going to let that stupid pain win, so you speak with an innocent tone.

“Or maybe since you are _so old_ he thinks that I am your daughter”

The way Corazon’s mouth opens wide when hearing your teasing comment is definitely worth it.

“I’ll remember this, you know”, he ends saying, his eyes glinting playfully in a way that makes your heart miss another beat, but you recover enough  to smile charmingly at him.

 “Yes, but for now you owe me for having accompanied you, so you can’t do me anything”

Corazon smiles resignedly.

“Touché”

You finally accompany the already impatient nurse towards one of the empty rooms and sit down in the two chairs in front of the desk.

“Wait here. The doctor will come right away”

When the door closes behind the woman, Corazon gulps and looks at you with apprehension. You simply make the gesture of inhaling exaggeratedly before exhaling the air.  With a smile Corazon takes a deep breath. You are giving him an approving short nod just when door opens again and a slim tall man with dark hair and slight bags under his eyes enters the room, and for the way Corazon automatically tenses you deduce that the doctor is indeed Trafalgar Law, your crush’s crush.

“Oh”, Trafalgar looks at you with surprise, “so you have come accompanied this time”

“Y-Yes”, Corazon says after clearing his throat while Trafalgar sits down behind his desk, “she is (y/n), the employee that I have mentioned a couple of times”

You are so surprised (and happy against your will) that Corazon had spoken about you that you simply incline your head a little towards Trafalgar as a salute to discover that the man is offering you a rather cold look.

You frown with confusion. Okay, what the hell was that guy problem? You haven’t even said a word so why is he looking at you with condescendence?! Although well, maybe you are exaggerating things because you are in front of the man who has beaten you in conquering Corazon’s heart (no pun intended again), so probably you were just extra sensitive and the man was just serious and wasn’t looking at you coldly or anythi…

“So you are here to check on your boss? It wasn’t necessary. His ankle is almost cured by now”

Okay, you weren’t exaggerating anything, right now the man has just clearly hinted that he didn’t like your presence there! Well, maybe Rebecca hadn’t been mistaken when suggesting that the man was a cretin and…

…and wait.a.minute…maybe you were understanding all wrong and maybe the reason for the doctor’s sudden rejection towards you was way simpler. Well, there was just one way to prove it.

“Oh, I know”, you say, adopting your most animated tone, “Corazon has also told me about you and about what an awesome doctor you are, so I asked him to come here as well to ask you a couple of things”

Trafalgar’s serious mask cracks a little when he opens his eyes more in surprise, and maybe it’s your imagination but his tanned skin darkens a little in the cheeks, as if he was blushing, so at the end your feminine intuition was going to be right and Corazon could have more chances with the doctor than he had initially thought. Those were good news for them at least, you think in self-mockery.

“Well, I suppose that I can treat you after Corazon since this is going to be fast”, Trafalgar says, “although next time remember that you have to arrange a proper appointment”

Despite his words, Trafalgar’s previous coldness has completely vanished, so you guess that your nonchalant comment has convinced the good doctor that you don’t have any kind of feelings towards Corazon. Definitely, Hollywood has missed a really good actress.

While Trafalgar examines Corazon’s ankle you make sure to take a good look at the doctor’s desk but you soon get bored because there aren’t many personal things on it, with the exception of a photo of a man and a woman who probably were his parents. It seemed that Trafalgar Law was a secretive man. Corazon was going to work hard to go through that man’s shell, although you weren’t one to talk considering how prone you are to keep everything to yourself.

“Alright, your ankle completely cured”, Trafalgar announces just five minutes later.

When Corazon sits on the chair again he is extremely pale again and you honestly feel that the man was going to faint.

“S-so that means that I don’t have to come back”, Corazon comments, and you honestly don’t know how the doctor doesn’t react when Corazon begins the sentence with such an unnatural high-pitched tone.

“No, it is not necessary”, Trafalgar is so focused on writing something in a paper that fortunately he doesn’t notice the way Corazon gulps loudly, “I’m going to give you an ointment so that you apply it to your ankle for the next three days but for my part there is nothing else to check”

A tense silence that can be cut with a knife falls at that moment. You offer Corazon a pointed look before signaling subtly with your head towards Trafalgar, silently indicating Corazon that it was the perfect moment to confess.

However, just when Corazon is opening his mouth to speak Trafalgar finishes writing and offers the piece of paper to Corazon.

“Here you have”, Trafalgar says, “please, be careful the next time that you lift cages”

Corazon grabs the piece of paper and for a couple of seconds Trafalgar keeps sustaining it as well, grey eyes locking with brown ones.

Now it’s you the one who gulps. Come on, for goodness sake, it was evident that Trafalgar was giving Corazon a chance to speak, but Corazon was so busy trying to calm down that wasn’t seeing it!

“O-Okay, I’ll have. Thanks for everything”

When Corazon grabs the paper rudely and almost stomps in his attempt to abandon the chair hurriedly you have to suppress the urge to snap a hand against your forehead.

Jeez, your crush was surely an idiot. A really cute and adorable idiot, but an idiot after all, and for that reason your masochist part decides to act in his behalf because otherwise you fear that those two would never end together. And yes, that was exactly what you should desire but you were such an idiot that you preferred to put Corazon’s desires first. 

“Actually…”, your voice makes Trafalgar look at you and Corazon stop in his tracks, “…can I ask you for a little favor?”

“Oh, right”, Trafalgar manages to hide his disappointed expression and comes back to his professional attitude again, “you wanted to consult me something, so since we have still time…”

“Oh, that’s not urgent, I’ll come back in any other moment for that: what I want to ask you now is if you could come to the shop this afternoon”

Another silence falls in the room, and when both men exclaim respective shocked and surprised ‘ _What?_ ’ you certainly can’t blame them.

Jeez, you really hope to know what you are doing.

“Okay, the thing is that we have a client that has a complexion incredibly similar to yours”, you are honestly impressed with yourself for how easily you are able to make up a lie, “and he has requested us a costume that we have to finish by the end of the week. However, the client is super busy and can’t find the time to come to the shop to be measured, so could you come in his place? I know that it is a super weird request so we’ll do something to compensate you…or better said”, your smile innocently and point with your thumb at Corazon who was looking at you unable to hide his astonishment, “... _he_ will compensate you, since it’s the boss”

By when you finish speaking Trafalgar’s eyes are completely opened, although the one who wins for sure is Corazon, whose jaw was about to hit the floor.

You make sure to keep your polite smile but the truth was that you were beginning to sweat because of the nervousness. Shit, maybe you had gone too far. What if you have misinterpreted Trafalgar’s reaction, he didn’t want to do anything with Corazon and you have just created an extremely uncomfortable situation? Jeez, maybe you shouldn’t have said anything after al…

“Very well, I’ll go”

This time Corazon and you are the ones who shout a surprised loud ‘ _REALLY_?!’ that causes the nurse that was about to enter the room to gasp funnily while closing the door again without entering.

“This afternoon I have just consultations until 4 p.m.”, Trafalgar explains, but even if he is trying to adopt a purely professional tone his eyes were shining a little more than before when looking at Corazon, “so if it’s okay with you I can be in your shop at that hour. Could you give me the exact address?”

“Y-Yes, of course!”

Corazon almost stomps _again_ against the desk when he enthusiastically takes the pen that Trafalgar is offering him and writes the shop address on a paper that results to be the receipt that Trafalgar has just made him.

You suppress a slight sad smile when Corazon apologizes for his clumsiness bright red while Trafalgar writes the receipt again with an incredible serious expression. Definitely, those two made a rather funny couple. If you weren’t in love with Corazon, they would be your OTP for sure.

“W-Well, thanks for everything”, Corazon says with a happy smile that he is unable to hide, “see you at 4 p.m. then?”

Trafalgar allows himself to show the hint of a smile.

“Yes, see you then”

The doctor offers you a brief inclination as a goodbye that you return and after that Corazon and you abandon the room.

During the brief time that it takes you leave the hospital you fear that Corazon reproaches you for having acted without consulting him. However, that fear immediately disappears once you are outside when Corazon suddenly hugs you, making all the air abandon your lungs and all the red travel to your cheeks because of the impression.

“I owe you big time, (y/n)”

You let out a nervous laugh when hearing his completely serious tone.

“C-Come on, it’s not such a big deal!”, you say while patting Corazon’s broad back (god, what a damn _perfect back_ the man has…) a little awkwardly, “I’ve just made him visit the shop but you still have to confess”

Corazon chuckles and releases you. Damn, why does he have to smile at you like that? That was just making you fall harder for him and that wasn’t wise at all.

“You’re right”, Corazon scratches the back of his head embarrassingly, “and sorry, after ruining your Saturday morning I’ve been about to run away”

“It’s okay”, you say waving your hand, “it’s been funny seeing you so flushed when speaking with your doctor”

Corazon chuckles again before looking at you with curiosity.

“And what do you think about him?”

‘ _That I would like him more if you weren’t after him’._

“He is a little too serious but he seems to be a nice guy. And he’s rather attractive too”, you frown with confusion when Corazon raises an amused eyebrow, “what?”

“Just ‘rather attractive’?”

You blush. Maybe it would have been better to say that you thought that it was super handsome because certainly to say ‘rather attractive’ was a little poor to describe the objectively sexy doctor.

“I-I mean, he is handsome, but it’s not exactly my type”

“Oh”, Corazon looked at you with honest curiosity, “and what’s your type?”

‘ _Tall, blonde and muscular_ ’, but you definitely couldn’t say that! Fortunately, at that moment Corazon’s mobile begins to sound and you don’t need to answer the compromising question.

The one who had called was Cavendish, who wanted to know if it was going to take you and Corazon much to come back to the shop because he had a photo session (the guy had another job as a model) and he had to leave soon.

You and Corazon arrive at the costume shop in barely fifteen minutes. As always, Bartolomeo and Cavendish were quarrelling when you arrive.

“I dare you to repeat that again”

“What, that you should model for a dog’s magazine?”

“ _You have repeated it again_!”

“That's what you've said me to do! And come on, you’ve looked at your hair? You look like a damn poodle”

“A _poodle_?! Well, at least I am not like a punky rooster”

“WHAT?! Who are you calling a rooster?!”

Corazon sighs with resignation but just when he is going to intervene you settle a hand on his arm.

“Let me handle it”, you say softly before walking towards the two shouting men, “GUYS, ENOUGH!”

Cavendish and Bartolomeo jump when hearing your command and stop talking immediately.

“Much better”, you look at Cavendish, “you are going to leave soon, right?”, when Cavendish nods a little too hurriedly you turn to look at Bartolomeo, who flinches a little, “then Barto follow me to the back shop. We have work to do”

Since you practically drag the confused punk towards the back shop, you miss the way Corazon is suppressing a laugh for your straightforwardness.

“Okay, we have to hurry”, you say when you are in the back shop, a room completely full with cages that were, as well, full with several costumes, accessories and a long etcetera, “this afternoon a client is going to arrive and we need to find a costume for him”

“What kind of costume?”, Bartolomeo asks.

“I don’t know, whatever it fits”, Bartolomeo doesn’t say anything but for the way he looks at you it was evident that he was expecting a more detailed explanation, “look, it’s a little complicated to explain. I promise that I’ll tell you later but now, please, can you help me without asking questions?”

Despite his a little scary appearance and that he was loud as hell and usually got a little on your nerves, Bartolomeo was a really nice guy so almost immediately he nods with a smile.

“Kay, I won’t ask, but as a compensation you will have to come to my next concert _and_ not to leave until the end like the last time”

You sigh but eventually nod. Certainly, the punk-rock that Bartolomeo and his band (“The Barto Club”) played wasn’t exactly your favorite music but since the guy was going to help you, you owed him that much.

“Okay, I promise I'll go but now let’s focus on this”

“Roger”, Bartolomeo says happily, “so you have said that the costume doesn’t matter but at least we have to know that man’s measurements so how is he?”

“Umh…”, you scratch the back of your head. Shit, you haven’t thought about that, “Tall…thin…I think it’s shorter than you…”

“That’s too vague, how tall is he? 1,80? 1,75? 1,70?”

“Jeez, I don’t know exactly. 1,75 I guess?”

“You guess? (y/n), we need to know his measurements if we want to find a costume than suits him more or less”

“Okay, I’ve had a better idea: instead of finding a costume, we will just use some fabric to take his measurements when he comes”

“Umh…(y/n)…”

“What?”

“We don’t have any fabric left”

“…What?”

“It’s weekend, remember? We never receive new materials until Monday”

Your mouth falls opened.

Shit, you had forgotten about that!

At that moment Corazon knocks softly and enters.

“Is everything okay?”, he asks in general, but he is looking directly at you when asking, so you know that he is referring to your secret plan.

 “Y-Yeah, it’s everything under control. You can remain in the counter at ease”

“You sure?”, Corazon insists, but you nod without hesitation. After all, it has been _your_ idea the whole let’s-dress-up-the-doctor plan so you were going to solve it alone…or well, with Barto’s little help.

“Yep, don’t worry”, you insist, and it seems that you look confident enough because Corazon smiles at you gratefully before closing the door behind him.

“So…”, Bartolomeo begins, “about that fabric…”

You exhale a long sigh and offer an apologetic smile to Bartolomeo, who immediately catches what you are going to say.

“We are going to visit the basement, right?”

You nod and Bartolomeo exhales a frustrated growl. If the back shop was a disaster, the basement was so disorganized that it probably could hide a portal to another dimension and you’d never know.

“I know that it’s not the funniest way to spend the time but if you help me with this, I’ll deliver flyers of your concerts in the University during the next week”

 Bartolomeo’s eyes illuminate.

“If I find the fabric first, it will be two weeks!”

You laugh when seeing the guy climb down the stair towards the basement in a run. You follow him with a smile while thinking for hundredth time that Rebecca would kill you if he knew what you were doing.

* * *

Three hours later you finally manage to find a decent amount of red fabric in relatively good state. During that time Corazon visits you several times to insist to help you but since he was also busy with paperwork stuff you reject his help all the times.

“At last”, Bartolomeo says removing the sweat from his forehead. During the searching process his t-shirt had flown somewhere and his upper-half was exposed, leaving his tattooed chest on full display, thing that you didn’t regret in the least because even if you had just eyes for Corazon, you certainly were free to appreciate a nice body and definitely Bartolomeo had it.

“Yes, we did it”, you say, drinking one of the water bottles that Corazon has brought you in one of his visits together with several snacks, “thanks, Barto. As I’ve promised, the next two weeks I’ll make sure to gather a bunch of people to your concert”

“But you have found the fabric at the end, so it should be one week”

You make a dismissive gesture with your hand when hearing Bartolomeo's protest.

“It doesn’t matter. Since I’ve exploited you I’ll do it two weeks”

Bartolomeo barks a laugh before pointing at you.

“And remember that you have to tell me what this whole thing is about”

You chuckle and nod.

“Don’t worry, if everything goes as planned you’ll know this same afternoon. I’m going upstairs to tell Corazon that we have found it”

When you are in the back shop again, you lose a little of time fixing your (h/c) hair, that it is a little sticky because of the sweat. Jeez, you are really going to take a shower when arriving home. You had to stink for sure.

You approach the door that leads to the main shop and when you are about to open it you hear voices. It seemed that while you and Bartolomeo were busy searching that damn fabric some clients had arrived and Corazon was attending them.

You exit the back shop and take a look at the two men that are in the shop besides Corazon. One of them was looking around the shop with curiosity. He was a little hunched, had black hair and beard, and you really hoped that what was hanging down his nose was a piercing and not a _snot_.

The other man was leaning over the counter with his back turned to you but he looked as if he was rather tall, and from where you were you couldn’t hear what he was asking Corazon but this one had a rather surprised expression on his face, thing that you certainly couldn’t reproach him because the newcomers were obviously disguised as gangsters and the truth was that the costumes they were wearing looked incredibly real.

You deduce that those men had come to ask Corazon for a modification of their costumes. It wasn’t the first time that something like that happened although this time you seriously didn’t think that they needed any modification because they were perfect as they were.

For that reason, when realizing that the hunched man has already noticed you, you approach them and with an honest impressed tone you decided to show your admiration for their disguise.

“Good afternoon! Have you come to fix your gangsters costumes? I think that they are pretty awesome already but if you want to improve them even more, the boss is the man you’re looking for”

When you see Corazon’s dumbfounded expression you realize a little too late your mistake, that apparently was that the two men that have just arrived weren’t dressed up. Those ‘gangsters costumes’, as you’ve just called them, were their normal clothes and for the heavy silence that falls then, it seemed that your totally innocent but completely inopportune comment hadn’t been well received.

You gulp, feeling your cheeks heat up because of the embarrassment. However, before you can apologize, a laugh invades the room.

“Fu fu fu~”

The blonde man that is leaning on the counter facing Corazon and with his back turned to you draws himself up to his full height (more than 2,00 meters, you notice) and turns to look towards your direction through a pair of flashy lenses that don’t let you see his eyes.

However, you _do_ see the vein popping out in the side of his forehead that confirms you that the man is upset, and the devilish smile that he is showing while continuing his slow approach makes you to gulp again while unconsciously beginning to go backwards.

“Well, well, Corazon, what a funny employee you have here”, your back suddenly hits the recently closed back shop door and you find yourself staring up in a rather uncomfortable angle at that ridiculously tall man, whose arm is now leaning on the wall next to your head allowing him to loom over you in a way that is clearly menacing, “I had never met someone who dared to insult the family so casually. You surely are brave, young lady”

You make your best not to feel intimidated but it is being extremely difficult. Until now there hadn’t been any person, man or woman, who had managed to scare you but shiiit that man had an aura around him that you hadn’t seen in anyone before, and right now you were desiring to come back in time not to have said that stupid comment…

“Leave her alone, Doffy”, Corazon intervenes suddenly with a reproachful though not angry tone, “you perfectly know that she wasn’t insulting you, so don’t be a bully and stop scaring her”

 _Doffy_? You think, your confusion overcoming your fear. Wait, you had heard that name before.

At that moment, the giant blonde man finally stops leaning over you and separates with a soft snicker.

“You’re not funny at all, little brother. It was just a little joke”

Your eyes snap opened.

“Brother?”, you repeat.

You look at Corazon in disbelief and Corazon seems to deduce what you are thinking because with a light apologetic smile he speaks.

“(y/n), do you remember that sometimes I’ve mentioned that I have a brother? Well…”, Corazon signals at the menacing man with his hand, “this is Donquixote Doflamingo. My older brother”

Now, it’s your mouth what falls opened while staring at the man who has frightened you like no one has been able to do in all your life just for his diversion. 

You frown when Doflamingo’s smile widens even more in clear amusement.

Definitely, you weren’t going to get along with Corazon’s brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeell, that’s what love at first sight doesn’t mean xDD  
> From now on Doffy will be a regular of the story and you will be interacting with him much more, so be mentally prepared for it :P


	4. The offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a proposition that you will have serious difficulties to reject.

“So what brings you here? Last thing I knew was that you had a prosperous business in Dressrosa”

Doflamingo accepts the cup of coffee that Corazan offers him and you automatically tense when the man chooses to sit next to you in the table. For the way he smirks you deduce that he has done it on purpose to bother you, thing that he effectively achieves.

After Doflamingo and Trebol (yes, apparently that was the snot-man’s true name) arrived at the shop, Corazon thought that it would be a good idea to offer them a coffee. And yes, obviously it was understandable that Corazon wanted to offer coffee to his brother and his friend, but you couldn’t quite see why the hell Bartolomeo and you were also in that familiar reunion!

And well, Bartolomeo may be confused about the whole thing. The way he was looking at everyone with barely concealed curiosity proved it. But come on, how Corazon wasn’t noticing the obvious (one-sided) tension that existed between you and his brother? Jeez, you really loved Corazon, but sometimes you preferred that he wasn’t so oblivious.

“Oh, and I have”, Doflamingo answers taking a sip of his coffee, that smile of his that makes you feel extremely uncomfortable never abandoning his face, “but that annoying policeman was beginning to ask too many questions, so until things calm down a little I’ve left Vergo and Monet in charge of everything there”

You and Bartolomeo interchange a brief glance.  That has sounded as if Corazon’s brother was involved in not-too-legal business. Well, that would definitely explain the gangster clothes that the man was wearing. 

However, Corazon didn’t seem particularly bothered by that fact because when hearing his brother’s answer he simply hummed to himself and smiled teasingly.

“So at the end Smoker was more of a problem than you initially thought”

“Behehehehe!”, you jump in your seat when suddenly Trebol laughs with a loud voice, “that man is just too stupid, neee?! If he knew what is best for him, he and his stupid official would leave Doffy alone, neeee?!”

“Careful, Trebol”, you tense even more when suddenly Doflamingo turns to look directly at you with his flashy glasses still on, and not being able to see his eyes is enough to make you even more nervous, “if you talk too much maybe these children here get scared and run away”

“Hey, who are you calling children?!”

Bartolomeo’s bravado turns completely off when Doflamingo slowly turns his head towards him and chuckles, causing the punk to gulp loudly

“Corazon, we definitely have work to do on your fellows: a boy that doesn’t know how to talk with respect, and a girl who insults our clothes before even saying hello”

“I wasn’t insulting your clothes”, your tongue is faster than your brain because you regret when Doflamingo’s interest focuses on you again, causing you to speak with a little less of determination that you would like to show, “I-I just thought that they were costumes, that’s all”

“And you don’t consider that an insult?”, Doflamingo asks with irony.

“N-No, because I said that they were ‘ _awesome costumes_ ’, so I was saying it as a compliment”

Your defensive answer causes Trebol to laugh even louder than before.

“Behehehehe! This girl is funny, Doffy. Baby 5 would have fun with her for sure”, Trebol turns to look at Corazon, “neee, Corazon, neeee: can you lend her to us?”

You blush with embarrassment and are about to reply offended that you aren’t something that can be lent but this time Corazon intervenes before you can.

“Sorry, Trebol, but I don’t have anything to say in this. She is free to choose whatever she wants to do”

You blush again but for another completely different reason. You are going to smile at Corazon with gratitude but at that moment Trebol leans over the table forcing you to press your back completely against your chair so that his swinging snot doesn’t hit you.

“Nee, nee, would you like to come with us then? Doffy is establishing a new business here and since Vergo and Monet aren’t here we need to hire more people”

“Is that true?”, Corazon asks with surprise.

Doflamingo stops looking at you mockingly and nods at his brother.

“Yes, we arrived at this town a couple of weeks ago”, Corazon frowns and Doflamingo keeps talking with a conciliatory tone, “I didn’t warn you before because we have been quite busy finding a suitable place to stay, but now that we already have it I’ve decided to pay you a visit and not just because you are my dear little brother, but also for what Trebol has said: we need to hire two people to fill the gaps that Monet and Vergo have left”

Corazon smiles apologetically and shakes his head.

“Sorry, Doffy. The answer is no”

“But I still haven’t said anything”, Doflamingo protests jokingly, causing Corazon to chuckle.

“It’s not necessary: you were going to ask me to join the family business again, right?”

“Fufufu. Am I so easy to read?”

“No, but you put that same face the two times that you asked me to join you, and the answer remains the same. I appreciate the offer but I am more comfortable with my pacific life and my costumes”

“My life is also pacific”, Doflamingo puts his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his hands, “I concede you that when a deal doesn’t go as planned things can become a little tense, but that’s all”

Corazon laughs and takes a sip of his own coffee.

“Your concept of ‘little tense’ is too much for me, Doffy. I’m sorry”

Doflamingo sighs with resignation but he seemed to have been anticipating his little brother’s answer because he doesn’t insist more.

You are surprised for how well the two brothers seem to get along. In the few times that Corazon had talked you about Doflamingo you have learnt two things: that Doflamingo had left when Corazon was fourteen, and that since that time Corazon had just seen his brother a couple of times, being the last one almost fifteen years ago, so you had wrongly deduced that Corazon didn’t talk more about his brother because he had hard feelings towards him.

After all, even if you were an only child you were pretty sure that in case of having a brother or sister that left you behind and just visited you twice in more than twenty years you’d certainly hate him or her, but this didn’t seem to be the case at all.

You get lost on your thoughts while taking a sip of your cocoa. Definitely, there was something about the Donquixote brothers that you didn’t know yet…

“And what about you, child?”, you almost spill what you’ve just drunk when Doflamingo settles a hand in the back of your chair and turns his interest towards you once again, “would you like to work for me? I pay well, as long as you do your job right. And don’t worry, since you are still little the job won’t be so complicated so…”

“This _child_ is 24 already”, you say with irritation without even thinking, “and I’ve been working for Corazon for two years already, so he can tell you how capable I am of doing ‘ _complicated things_ ’”

You regret your words the moment they leave your mouth, but despite Doflamingo was super intimidating you were pretty tired of being called a child with such condescendence.

However, your fear that your insolent comment made the man angry vanishes when Doflamingo chuckles. Great. It seemed that you have reacted just the way he was expecting and that just frustrates you even more. God, were he and Corazon really brothers?! Because Doflamingo seems to be exactly the opposite than his brother, and considering how perfect you thought Corazon was that wasn’t precisely good.

“Well, it seems that the little girl is able to bite when being pushed”, Doflamingo says with a light approving tone that just causes you to feel more offended because although he had used different words, he has called you a child again, “I don’t dislike that. I prefer when people under my command are able to answer back even when they are afraid”

You are about to answer that you were not afraid but who you were kidding? Just when remembering the way the man had leant over you before, you felt the chills in all your body.

“So is she saying the truth?”, Doflamingo inquires looking at his brother, “she is a good worker?”

“Absolutely”, Corazon says with no hint of doubt, “even if she works here part-time, she is so efficient that it feels as if she worked here all day. Besides, she has been the one who has created the web site of the shop with the corresponding database that allows us to keep all the inventory in check”, Corazon looks at you with hesitation,  “have I explained that right?”

You chuckle because certainly Corazon’s technologic skills weren’t the best and making him understand how everything worked had been a little of a challenge.

“Yes, you have”, you say with a smile that right now could rival Bartolomeo’s one. You know that you are probably redder than the fabric that Bartolomeo and you have found but you couldn’t help it after Corazon praised you like that.

“So yes, Doffy”, Corazon says with a proud smile signaling you and Bartolomeo with a wide gesture, “this ‘little girl’, this disrespectful ‘boy’ and another ‘boy’ that isn’t here at this moment are really good workers, so maybe you want to try to convince them to work for you instead of doing it for me”

Doflamingo hummed to himself, but despite Corazon had named you and Bartolomeo, Doflamingo looked just at you when talking next.

“Interesting. I’ll really think about it, little brother”

You feel a shiver running down your spine when Doflamingo subtly licks his top lip. You automatically avert your eyes from the man and take another sip of your cocoa. Jeez, you were desiring that the man abandoned the room once and for all. Definitely, the Donquixote brothers were unique to make you nervous, although not precisely for the same reasons.

At that moment the bell of the shop rings and Corazon’s until now confident expression changes radically.

You understand immediately what he is thinking and rapidly check your wristwatch. It is 4 o’clock exactly.

“Is...?”, Corazon gulps, “is it…?”

“I’ll go take a look”, you say, standing up from your chair and going towards the door, honestly happy to stop being so close to Corazon’s brother.

Doflamingo doesn’t bother to hide his curiosity while looking at his brother.

“Are you waiting someone?”

You are about to open the door carefully not to make a noise but suddenly Trebol situates next to you with a speed you didn’t imagine he had, causing you a mini heart-attack.

“Neee, neee, who it is?!”

“Ssssh!!”, you hiss without thinking, but surprisingly Trebol obeys and just exhales his characteristic ‘Behehehe!’ in a tone acceptably low.

“Fufufu~, so you even dare to give orders to my subordinates. I like you more by the moment, young lady”

You decide that it will be wiser to pretend not having heard Doflamingo’s comment since the man will probably keep provoking you. Well, at least he has called you ‘young lady’ instead of ‘little girl’ or ‘child’. It was an advance.

Finally, you open the door enough to see through it and realize that yes, Trafalgar Law was the newcomer. You had to admit that the man gained without the white coat. Those fitted jeans and simple but fitting beige t-shirt suit him incredibly well.

“(y/n)?”

You focus again when hearing Corazon, and damn, his voice sounded so expectant that you can’t help to feel a pang of jealously hitting you.

“Yes, he is here”

Corazon takes a deep breath before looking at Doflamingo, who by now is looking at his litter brother in utter amusement.

“Is there something that you have to tell me, little brother?”

Corazon gulps awkwardly, but before being able to give a proper answer Doflamingo talks again.

“Well, I suppose that it can wait”, Doflamingo stands up and you can’t help to feel impressed again for how tall the man was. Damn, compared to him, Corazon looked small, “I don’t know why but I guess you prefer me and Trebol to leave by the back door”

Corazon exhales a nervous laugh.

“Thanks Doffy. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

Doflamingo nods, apparently satisfied with the answer.  You are about to breathe again normally, relieved that finally Corazon’s brother leaves, but just at the last moment Doflamingo turns to look at you.

You gulp. Damn, Doflamingo’s smile looked even more devious than before. You don’t know why but you had a bad feeling about it.

“It’s mostly probable that I come to see my brother next week so I hope to see you around, young lady”

With that last sentence, Doflamingo abandons the room followed by Trebol and his loud laughs.

At the same time, Bartolomeo and you let out the air that you have been holding without noticing.

“Holly fuck”, Bartolomeo snaps, passing a hand through his sweated hair and looking at Corazon accusatorily, “damn it, Cora-senpai, I’ve been about to shit my pants. You could have warned us that your brother was such a badass!”

You would laugh at Bartolomeo’s comment if it wasn’t because you thought exactly the same. Well, maybe the shit part was a little exaggerated, although honestly not much.

Corazon scratches the back of his head while laughing apologetically.

“Sorry, I know that my brother can be really…intense. If I had known that he was going to come I would have warned you beforeha-”

“Corazon-san?”

Corazon gasps when Trafalgar’s voice is heard from the main shop.

“A-A-Alright”, Corazon clears his throat but his voice keeps sounding unusually high-pitched, “l-l-let’s going to attend the client a-a-and…”

“Corazon”, you approach the babbling man and grabs his hands despite the embarrassment and nervousness that the action causes you, “breathing is important if you want to keep living, remember?”

Corazon laughs when hearing your ironic comment and after gulping he nods.

“You’re right, (y/n)”, he takes a deep breath and presses your hands a little, making your heart accelerate, “after you have given me this chance I’m not going to ruin it. At least not yet”

‘ _Great’_ , you think in self-mockery.

“That’s better”, you release (a little reluctantly) his hands, “you go first. Barto and I will carry the fabric to the measurement room”

Corazon nods and after taking another deep breath he leaves the shop.

When you are alone, Bartolomeo looks at you with his eyebrows raised.

“You promised that you wouldn’t ask me anything yet”, you say rapidly, causing Bartolomeo to bark a laugh.

“Don’t worry, I won’t”, he said, finally standing up as well, “although I think I know more or less what’s going on. The boss wasn’t being too subtle right now. Didn’t know he was gay”

You suppress a smile. Sometimes, you forgot that even if Bartolomeo acted goofily most part of the times, the guy was rather perceptive and definitely wasn’t dumb.

“Come on, let’s carry the fabric to the measurement room before the boss and the client arrive”

“You mean the boss and his _date_?”, you offer a reproachful look to Bartolomeo, “okaaay, I won’t tell anyone. Not even Cabbage”

You chuckle again and after sighing softly you leave the office, preparing yourself to spend a little hard afternoon.

* * *

Even if Corazon’s nervousness was extremely evident when talking with Trafalgar, the moment he got into work Corazon entered his professional mode and got incredibly serious and concentrated. Indeed, you noticed that while the man worked, it was Trafalgar the one who looked more in tension.

Also, you discovered that the apparent serious doctor had some tattoos in his knuckles that you hadn’t noticed that morning since the man was wearing gloves, and even if you were dying to know when and why he had something like that done, you decided that it was a little too soon to ask. After all, you have barely interchanged a couple of words with Trafalgar and you still weren’t sure that the man didn’t hate you, since even if he wasn’t cold with you he wasn’t friendly either. 

And obviously, the way the doctor blushed almost imperceptibly every time that Corazon surrounded him a little with his arms to keep measuring him didn’t go unnoticed by you. Definitely if things kept going like that your Casanova work wouldn’t be necessary for much more.

At the end, the measurement process took Corazon almost an hour, because the man had decided that even if the whole thing had been an excuse so that he and Trafalgar met again, he wanted to create a costume for the good doctor. A costume that he hadn’t wanted to share with you so that the result was more stunning.

Consequently, the confession was postponed once again until the next meeting, that would be the next Thursday when Trafalgar came back to the shop to try on the complete costume.

“Thanks a lot for everything, (y/n)”, Corazon say once Trafalgar left, “and I’m sorry about my brother. Has he scared you a lot?”

‘ _Yes’_

“Nah”, you say instead, “although I have to admit that he is pretty imposing. And his friend...he was a little peculiar”

Corazon chuckles.

“Yes, peculiar is the word. But despite his appearance that man helped my brother a lot when he was little so Doffy respects him a lot, and so do I”

You bite your tongue in time not to ask more about Corazon’s past. You really wanted to know but probably it was better to wait. It was late already and the day has been long. You just wanted to go home, take a shower and sleep.

“By the way”, Corazon says suddenly, “if at the end you decided to work for Doffy, it would be completely fine. I’m sure he will pay you better than what I am able to pay you. Although in that case…”, Corazon shows you an apologetic smile, “I would like that you keep working here at least until the end of the year, since these last months are the busiest”

For a moment you think that Corazon is joking, but then you realize that no, Corazon was completely serious, and honestly you didn’t know how to feel: happy for the knowledge that Corazon let you choose with complete freedom what to do, or sad because Corazon didn’t seem to mind if you worked for him or not. You thought the second feeling was winning.

“Don’t worry, I also like to have a pacific live. But nevertheless, even if I eventually decided to work for your brother ( _think that it’s never going to happen_ , you think) I wouldn’t leave this shop. I like a lot to work here with you…guys. With you all”

Phew, that had been close! It had been about to sound really romantic.

At that moment Corazon smiles widely.

“I’m glad to hear that”, hey, he sounded relieved!, “I have to admit that even if I can understand that you preferred to work elsewhere, I also enjoy working with you. And if you left, I would surely miss you, although I suppose that’s what you’ll eventually do”

You gulp. Damn it, why does Corazon say that kind of things so casually? Definitely that wasn’t good for your heart.

“A-As I’ve said don’t worry about it! For now I’m not going anywhere”

After that you say goodbye to Corazon and Bartolomeo and come back home. You have barely entered your apartment when you receive a call from Rebecca.

 _“(y/n), are you at home?_ ”

“Hi, Becca. I’ve just arrived”, you remove your coat and shoes and climb the stairs in your shocks.

“ _Great! I’m going to the Baratie right now to have something to eat with Nami and Robin_ ”

“Oh, I thought that Nami didn’t like that place because that cook was always trying to flirt with her”

“ _And she doesn’t like it but today it’s Sanji’s day off so he isn’t here. So? Do you want to come?_ ”

“Thanks, Becca, but I prefer to rest”, you practically flop in your bed in your favorite position, “the day has been long”

“ _Yes, to help the man you love to be with_ someone else than you _has to be tiring_ ”

“Don’t be mean. Besides, the doctor seems like a nice guy”

“ _I don’t care how saint your rival in love is: you should be the one in being with Corazon, you dummy!_ ”

You smile with patience.

“We’ve talked about this already, Becca. It’s evident that Corazon loves that doctor, so there’s nothing I can do about it. Besides, after discovering what a brother in law I’d have in case of being with Corazon, I think it’s better if we aren’t together”, you joke.

“ _Brother in law? What do you mean?_ ”

You find yourself gulping just with the memory of Doflamingo.

“Today I’ve met Corazon’s brother”

“ _Oh? And is he as handsome as Corazon?_ ”

“No”, you answer too quickly but then you force yourself to be more objective, “okay, yes, he is rather attractive. He is tall, like, quite tall, I think he is more than 2,00 meters. And I also think he is more muscular than Corazon”

“ _Mmmm, that sounds like your type! Didn’t you like bulky-blond guys_?”

“Please, Becca, don’t say ‘bulky’, I hate that word”

“ _Hehehe, I know. So what’s wrong with that guy?_ _In my imagination right now he is pretty hot so maybe he could be a better option than Corazon_ ”

“HA HA HA, no way. You should have seen the man. He was super scary. If someone told me that he is a demon I would believe him”  

“ _(y/n), are you sure you aren’t exaggerating?_ ”

“No, I’m not!”, you say offended, “besides, he got on my nerves treating me like a little child all the time! And okay, he probably reaches the forties but that doesn’t mean that I am a child and wait, Becca, why are you laughing?”

“ _Because I don’t know if you’re hearing yourself but this sounds as the typical romantic story that begins with the girl hating the guy for whom she’ll eventually fall_ ”

“WHAT?!”, you shout, causing Rebecca to laugh more and you to become more exasperated, “okay, I’ve been mocked enough for today, you know? So have fun with your friends”

“ _Come on, (y/n), don’t get angry with me, I was just teasing you a little!_ ”

You huff in a sulking way but as always, you don’t keep being irritated with Rebecca for long and when you hang up you have a smile on your face.

After taking a shower and having a quick dinner you immediately go to bed, and even if Morfeo catches you relatively fast, you can’t help to keep wondering about what the past of the Donquixote brothers could be before your eyes finally close and you fall into a pleasant dream.

* * *

The rest of the weekend passes relatively fast and Monday arrives soon.

You attend your Master classes in the morning as always and after having lunch alone in your apartment you go to the costume shop.

Surprisingly, when you arrive the only ones in the shop are Bartolomeo and Cavendish.

“Hasn’t the boss arrived yet?”, you ask when seeing Cavendish in the counter, as always than the boss was absent because he was more suitable to deal with customers than Bartolomeo. The loud punk had tried to replace Cavendish once and the result was a little disastrous.

“No, he has gone to buy the fabric that he is going to use in his next costume”

Because of the silence that falls next, the studied casual tone that Cavendish uses and the guilty expression that appears in Bartolomeo’s face, you immediately deduce what’s happened.

“You have told Cavendish, right?”

“I-I didn’t want to tell him but…umh…the thing is…”

“The thing is that this idiot can’t keep a secret”, Cavendish completes, “because this morning I’ve just commented that it was weird that Corazon-san went to buy personally the fabric instead of ordering it and Bartolomeo has put a super guilty expression”

“I haven’t!”, Bartolomeo says bright red, “it’s you the one who has begun to ask questions like crazy!”

“Well, if you hadn’t looked so secretive I wouldn’t have asked anything, don’t you think?!”

“Guys, GUYS!”, you are forced to raise your voice so that the two men stop talking, “it doesn’t matter if Cavendish knows, as long as you don’t tell ANYONE else, okay?”

Cavendish and Bartolomeo nod at the same time obediently and you sigh.

“Okay. And now, until the boss arrives you, Cavendish, are in charge of the counter and you, Bartolomeo, try to put a little of order in the back shop. I will join you when I finish checking that everything is updated in the websit…”

At that moment the bell that announces the arrival of a customer rings.

At first, you assume that it was Corazon the newcomer, but when seeing the way Bartolomeo gets incredibly pale and how his mouth falls opened you discard that option.

You gulp. Okay, it couldn’t be that the newcomer was…

“Oh, so my brother hasn’t arrived yet? What a pity. I had to talk to him about several things”

You close your eyes.

Okay, it could be.

Doflaming has just arrived at the shop, and considering that Bartolomeo didn’t seem very eager to talk and that Cavendish seemed a little lost, it was your turn to talk with the man.

Great. Just great.

After suppressing a gulp, you turn around to face the newcomer.

Doflamingo was standing in front of you, hands in his pockets and the same ‘gangster clothes’ that he wore during his first visit, a black suit with a red cravat, although today instead of a jacket he was wearing a pink feathery coat that, according to you, he was probably the only man who could wear something like that and keep looking extremely threatening.

Obviously, that devilish smile was adorning his face and his eyes kept hidden behind his lenses. Honestly, at the end you were going to think that there was something wrong with his eyes, otherwise you didn’t know why he didn’t want to show them.

“So since Corazon isn’t here…”, Doflamingo approach you and your coworkers and you force yourself to remain in your place and not to go backwards, “…who is the one in charge now?”

You can physically feel the way Cavendish and Bartolomeo stare at you.

“It’s me”, you eventually say, and you know that Doflamingo knew what the answer was going to be for the way his smile accentuates.

“Perfect”, he says, “because the thing I wanted to discuss with your brother is about you so can we talk in private?”

‘ _In private?! I’m going to be alone with this man?!_ ’, you panic, but force yourself to keep a more or less calm attitude.

“O-of course”, crap, your voice has faltered!, “let’s go to the office”

Doflamingo follows you with an ironic smile on his face. When you stop at the office you are going to open the door but Doflamingo anticipates and opens it for you, allowing you to enter first.

Well, it seemed that chivalry was something that both brothers shared. Probably the only thing. Although well, they both were attractive. And wait, why have you thought that?! That wasn’t important at all?!

When the door closes behind Doflamingo, you hesitate in sitting in the desk but you decide to remain standing and lean against it, just in case you need to run away in a hurry or something like that.

“S-So…”, you clear your throat when your tone comes out a little trembling, “what can I do for you?”

For the brief pause that it follows it seemed as if Doflamingo was refraining himself for making a joking comment about your sentence, but at the end he seemed to let it pass.

“Alright, let’s go direct to business”, you feel yourself relaxing lightly when Doflamingo takes a chair and sits down on it, allowing you to look at him from above, and you don’t know if he has done it in purpose but that way you feel just a little less intimidated, “this weekend, I’ve taken a look at the website of this shop and I have to admit that I’m impressed for the quality of it. It’s really intuitive, well organized, and easy to use. You’ve done a great work”

You blink twice, utterly confused. Among all the things that you were expecting Doflamingo to say, to praise your website wasn’t among them.

“O-Oh, thank you”, you say, a little at a loss of words at first, but almost immediately you keep talking, “doing it that way was a little complicated but the main objective was that the potential customers were able to use it easily and comfortably”

Doflamingo hummed to himself, placing an elbow on the arm chair to lean his chin on his hand.

“Yes, you’re completely right. And also, as Corazon said the previous day, it’s a really useful way to keep the inventory in check”

You nod.

“Yes, it is really comfortable, because you can automatically know how many products you have or you still have to order, together with the earnings”

At that moment, Doflamingo’s smile widens.

“Very well, (y/n)”, your eyes open wide. It’s the first time that Doflamingo calls you by your real name. But your surprise doesn’t last when Doflamingo keeps talking, “it’s decided then. I want you to work for me from now on”

A silence falls in the room.

A rather tense silence.

“What?”, you say, thinking that you have heard wrong.

“I’ve just made my mind”, Doflamingo said, crossing his legs while putting himself more comfortable in the chair, “I want you to work for me. Of course I would prefer to have you exclusively but since Corazon found you first that wouldn’t be fair, so I’ll let you keep working for him. We can discuss with my brother when he arrives what days you’ll be working here and…”

“W-Wait, wait a moment”, you manage to say. You still haven’t assimilated what you’ve heard, “are you serious?”

Doflamingo chuckles.

“(y/n), the fact that I am usually smiling doesn’t mean that I’m joking all the time, and right now…”, you gulp when detecting the slight change in Doflamingo’s tone, “…I’m completely serious. As you already know, we are in process of opening a new business in this town, and I really need someone efficient that helps me to ‘keep the inventory in check’. Until now, it was Monet the one in charge of it but she isn’t available now, so I want you to fill that gap. I can assure you that no one is going to pay you what I’m going to pay you for doing this part-time job. If I were you, I wouldn’t hesitate in taking this offer”

You stare at Doflamingo in disbelief, still expecting that the man told you that it was some kind of joke, but when some seconds passed and Doflamingo kept silently looking at you, you deduce that no, it wasn’t a joke: Donquixote Doflamingo was really asking you to work for him.

You gulp. Honestly, the offer was rather good, but you didn’t want to work for someone else besides Corazon. Besides, you didn’t want to get involved in a business that probably was a mafia, and having a boss like Doflamingo was just too much for you. You just wanted to have a peaceful life, and that was assured for now by working for Corazon. Just for him.

“Look, it really sounds like a nice offer”, you eventually say nervously, since you deduce that the man wasn’t going to take very well your negative, “but with my Master and working for Corazon I’m rather busy so…”

“I’ve told you already that I’ll talk to Corazon to reach an agreement”, shit, goodbye to one of your arguments, “so I can assure you that you won’t be busier”

“Y-Yes, but besides I don’t think that I’m as good as you suggest”, you insist, “I-I mean, doing a website is not the same as taking care of the inventory of a big company and…”

Suddenly, Doflamingo stands up from the chair, and your heart is about to leave your chest when the man cages you against the counter, both of his arms extended on either side of your body, stopping you for moving.

“You know, (y/n), if there’s something that I can’t stand is a liar”, you gulp loudly, staring up at Doflamingo, whose face was suddenly really, _really_ close to you, “so if you don’t want to work for me, at least I want to know what’s the real reason behind it”

You gulp again. You have been really stupid thinking that you could fool this man with such lame excuses.

“Okay”, you manage to find your voice and decide not to risk and not to lie anymore, “the truth is that, the same as your brother, I want to have a peaceful live, and call me crazy but I think that working for you will be everything but pacific. I don’t need the money that much and I’m more than fine working for Corazon. Besides, I prefer to work for someone who doesn’t scare me all the time”

 When hearing your last sentence, Doflamingo smiles amused.

“So do I scare you?”

You gulp a third time.

“A little”

Doflamingo makes a tsking sound in light disapproval.

“Told you I don’t like liars”, he says, but now there was a hint of joke in his tone, so you relax but just a little bit because you kept being caged between his strong arms, “very well, (y/n) thanks for being sincere with me, but still it’s not enough. Another thing that I can’t stand is not to obtain what I want, and right now…”, you feel your heart pound hysterically in your chest when Doflamingo manages to get even closer to you, until your noses are almost touching, “…I want _you_ ”

You feel a shiver down your spine when hearing him almost purr that last sentence, but still you decide not to give up.

“But you can’t force me to work for you if I don’t want to”

Doflamingo laughs in his characteristic way.

“Oh, it won’t be necessary to force you”, Doflamingo says with confidence, “You are going to accept to work for me on your own will”

You frown, now honestly confused.

“And why am I going to do that?”

Doflamingo’s smile turns even more devil.

“Tell me, (y/n)…”, Doflamingo grabs your chin with one of his hands before keeping talking, and the words that he says make your heart literally stop, “…does Corazon know that you are in love with him?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems that Doffy has you against the cords :D What will you do now??


	5. The decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to keep your love for Corazon in secret, you reluctantly accept to work for Doflamingo. You regret your decision almost immediately when receiving a ‘present’ for him that same night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Image at the end of the chapter maybe a little nsfw xD

After hearing Doflamingo’s words you try to keep you expression imperturbable to hide how much his question has impacted you, but it was something terribly difficult to do when you were panicking inside. Damn it, how the hell that man, who had just seen you _twice_ , could have read you so easily when in _two years_ Corazon’s hadn’t?!

“W-What are you saying? I’m not in love with Corazon. I just enjoy working for him, that’s all”

Your attempt of showing surprise is ruined when inevitably your voice trembles with nervousness, but you certainly can’t blame yourself. With Doflamingo’s face so damn close to yours and with his hand grabbing your chin in a firm though not rude grip wasn’t helping your usually impeccable acting skills.

Doflamingo chuckles mischievously.

“Oh, (y/n), we’re going to work hard on that lying habit of yours. If you keep behaving in a bad way, maybe I will have to _punish_ you”

You blush when Doflamingo purposely emphasizes _that_ word that causes not-precisely- innocent things to begin to round your head. However, despite a big part of you fears not being able to win this battle, you decide to try to convince Doflamingo one last time.

“Look, it’s true that I think that your brother is really attractive, and as I’ve said I like working for him. But I don’t love him”

Doflamingo remains silent for several seconds without changing his expression, and you are silly enough to think for a brief moment that maybe the man has eventually believed you.

Obviously, that little hope disappears when Doflamingo, without stopping looking at you, extracts his phone from the pocket of his trousers and rapidly dials a number.

A cold sweat invades your body.

Wait, it couldn’t be that Doflamingo was calling…

“ _Yeah, Doffy? What’s up?_ ”

Your heart almost stops a second time that afternoon when recognizing Corazon’s voice at the other side of the line.

Oh damn it, couldn’t that bastard be about to…?

“Little brother, I’ve just learnt something really interesting about (y/n). Apparently, she is in…”

“ _No_!”

In an impulse you try to grab Doflaming’s phone so that he doesn’t complete the sentence but the man is faster and catches your wrists in the air with enough force not to cause you any harm but to convince you not to try to do that again.

“ _Doffy? I can’t quite hear you, what were you saying about (y/n)?_ ”

Without stopping smiling, Doflamingo presses the phone against his chest so that Corazon can’t hear you both.

“This is your last chance, young lady”, you gulp when this time the threat in Doflamingo’s voice didn’t leave space for doubt, “maybe you haven’t realized it yet but I’m not a very patient man, so what is your answer going to be?”

You grit your teeth with impotence, but when seeing that Doflamingo was planning to talk with Corazon again you settle your free hand against his before beginning to speak with hurry, your tone bordering of begging.

“Okay, okay, I’ll work for you so please don’t tell him anything”

After some seconds that seem as ages for you, Doflamingo’s smile becomes frustratingly satisfied.

“I knew that you were a clever girl”

You frown, showing your obvious discontent, but that only causes Doflamingo to chuckle while finally releasing your wrist. He approaches then his phone to his pierced ear again.

“Sorry Corazon, it seems that the connection has failed. I was saying that (y/n) is in _terested_ in working for me as well”

There is a small pause.

“ _Really?_ ”

You have to suppress a little smile when hearing Corazon sounding skeptic. Well, at least it seemed that Doflamingo was going to think in a good excuse to convince his brother that you really wanted to work for hi…

“Really. She can tell you herself right now”

Wait, what?!

Before having time to react Doflamingo has turned the speaker on and has placed the phone between you two.

“Come on, (y/n)…”, Doflamingo smirks with amusement, “…tell Corazon so that he is convinced”

You half-close your eyes at the smirking man in front of you. Damn, you really wanted to remove that exasperating smile from his face but definitely for now your only option was to do what he said.

“Hi, Corazon, it’s me”, you force your tone to sound relatively animated so that the man doesn’t suspect. You hope at least to be able to convince Corazon without problems.

“ _Oh, hello, (y/n). So at the end do you want to work for Doffy?_ ”

‘ _No, I don’t!!!!_ ’

“Well, your brother has made an offer that is almost impossible to reject”, you definitely weren’t lying when saying that, “but as I told you yesterday I’m going to keep working for you too, don’t worry”

Doflamingo nods and mouths a soundless ‘ _Well done_ ’ that just makes you angrier.

“Yes, don’t worry little brother: I don’t plan to steal your precious worker from you. She _loves_ working for you so much that I’ve had to be very persuasive to convince her”

You glare at Doflamingo because you perfectly know that he has used that word on purpose. Oh damn, every second that passed you hated that man more.

“ _Well, if (y/n) agrees I don’t have any objections_ ”, Corazon says eventually.

“Perfect then”, Doflamingo concludes with a triumphant grin he doesn’t bother to hide, “I have to go already but I’ll email you later to reach an agreement about the days she will be working for me from now on”

“ _Okay. See you later, (y/n)_ ”

“See you later”, you answer back weakly.

 Doflamingo finally hangs up.

“Well, it’s done”, Doflamingo chuckles when seeing your expression, “oh, don’t be upset, young lady. You’ll see that working for me is not so bad. And who knows, maybe eventually you end preferring working under me than under my brother”

You decide to ignore the possible innuendo that that last expression carried and snort.

“I really doubt that”, you point at Doflamingo with an accusing finger, “and now before leaving promise me that you aren’t going to tell Corazon”

Doflamingo shows an obvious fake confused expression.

“But I have done that already”

“No, you have simply said that you were going to tell Corazon if I didn’t agree, _but_ you haven’t promised anything about not telling him from now on, so I want to hear you say that”

Doflamingo looks at you for a brief moment before beginning to laugh.

“How mean, (y/n). You sound as if you don’t trust me”

 “Of course I don’t”

Your vehement answer just causes Doflamingo to laugh again.

“Very well, if this puts you more at ease I promise that, as long as you work for me as you’ve said you’d do, I’ll never tell Corazon by any means that you are in love with him. Are you satisfied?”

You nod even if you detect the mock behind Doflamingo’s words.

“However…”, Doflamingo crosses his arm and you decide to ignore the way the action makes the fabric of his suit adjust more to his muscular chest, “who tells you that I’m not going to break this promise?”

You think for a moment and eventually exhale a resigned sigh.

“No one, but I prefer to think that even the most evil gangster is honorable enough to keep his promises”

Doflamingo laughs with amusement.

“I’ll take that as a compliment”

At that moment someone knocks at the door.

“Yes?”, you answer. The door opens slowly and Cavendish sticks his head in.

“Sorry to interrupt, but someone has called asking for an error that he obtains in his PC when trying to buy a product in the website”

“Okay, tell him that I’ll call him in five minutes”

“Oh, it won’t be necessary”, Cavendish hurriedly moves aside when Doflamingo approaches the door, “I’ve already obtained what I was looking for, so I’ll take my leave”

You suppress in time a frown when Doflamingo dedicates a last overly satisfied smile at you.

“See you soon, (y/n). I’m impatient for having you meet the rest of the family”

With that goodbye, Doflamingo abandons the office snickering to himself. The bell of the shop rings almost immediately, indicating that Doflamingo has left the shop as well. At that moment Bartolomeo stomps in the office, practically pushing Cavendish aside.

“(y/n) are you alright?! Just so you know we were prepared to enter in case he tried anything funny”

“Wait…”, you feel yourself getting pale, “…have you been listening to our conversation?”

Bartolomeo is about to answer but Cavenish is faster.

“No, although that’s what this idiot wanted to do”, he accuses while situating again behind the counter, “The moment you both have entered the office he has gone to grab a glass to be able to overheard your conversation better”

“B-But I just wanted to make sure that that man wasn’t going to do her anything!”

You suppress a relieved sigh. Well, at least they hadn’t heard that you loved Corazon. Cavendish would probably be able to keep the secret in case of discovering it, but knowing how little subtle Bartolomeo was he would surely let it slip even if it wasn’t his intention.

“So what did he want from you?”, Bartolomeo inquires.

Time to lie!

“He has just offered me a job in the company he is creating, so from now I’m going to be working there some afternoons”

Bartolomeo’s jaw is about to hit the floor when hearing your answer, and since you deduce rather accurately that the man was going to begin to shout again you continue talking.

“Yes, he is pretty scary, but the conditions of the job were pretty good”, or you hoped that at least, since you were forced to work there, “besides, it will be good for my curriculum since working in a big company will surely give me points when I search for a full-time job”, another lie, since you didn’t have the least idea about what to do when finishing your master, “so don’t worry, Barto: even if I prefer Corazon as a boss, his brother is not as bad as he looks like”, yes, he totally is!!!

Bartolomeo hums to himself, although he didn’t look completely convinced. At that moment Cavendish calls you.

“(y/n), that man is still waiting for your answer, what do I tell him?”

You thank Cavendish deep inside for the interruption and go to attend the already quite impatient client.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passes quickly and by when Corazon arrives, struggling with several heavy bags full of first-quality fabric, it was almost time to close.

Corazon apologizes guiltily while Cavendish and Bartolomeo help him carry the multiple bags. Apparently fabrics were on sale at 50% off and Corazon had made the most of it.

As you were fearing, the moment Corazon sees you he asks you to accompany him to the office. The same as his brother, the man allows you to enter first and when you are both alone you feel even more nervous than when being alone with Doflamingo…

…Okay, no, it wasn’t true: you were more nervous with Doflamingo but it was for a totally different reason.

“So Doffy has asked you to work for him and you have accepted”

Corazon’s tone was soft but the man was staring at you with an intensity that made your heart accelerate.

“Yes”, your are proud of yourself when you answer without hesitation, “as I’ve told you the offer was rather good, and since Tuesday and Wednesday are days in which there aren’t usually many customers I’ve thought that I could work for your brother then”

Your nervous increases when Corazon just keeps staring at you without saying anything for several seconds.

“(y/n), can I ask you something? And please, don’t lie to me”

Oh, shit.

“S-Sure, what is it?”

Corazon sighs and speaks with evident suspicion.

“Has my brother threatened you in some way?”

Crap. That had just been spot on.

“Threatening me?”, show yourself confused, _show yourself confused_ , “what do you mean with that?”

“Well, even if I love Doffy I know how… _persuasive_ he can be when wanting something. And somehow it seems that you have caught his interest, so it wouldn’t be weird that he tried not-too-good methods to convince you, and if that’s the case…”, Corazon’s tone becomes serious, and you have to suppress the urge to gulp because damn if a serious Corazon wasn’t hot as hell, “…I’ll talk to him to remind him how to behave properly. So, (y/n): do you really want to work for Doffy or he has somehow forced you to do it?”

You think carefully your words and after some seconds you answer.

“Well, if I’m completely sincere, at first I rejected his petition because, no offense intended, your brother is scary as hell”

As you were expecting, Corazon relaxes a little and laughs when hearing your comment.

“However, I have to admit that the conditions that he offered me were pretty good, and as I’ve told Bartolomeo before (because he was also worried about me), working for a big company will be good for my future jobs. So don’t worry, your brother hasn’t threatened me. At least, not for now”

You make sure to smile and not to avert your eyes while talking, and it seems that your acting is good enough because eventually Corazon nods.

“Alright”, Corazon smiles, “in that case everything is fine with me. However, before you go to work in my brother’s company let me tell you a bit about the family. You have to know certain things about them if you want to cause a good first impression”

* * *

At the end you spend another twenty minutes or so talking to Corazon, or better said listening to him talk about the Donquixote famility, so by when you arrive your apartment later than night your head was full of names but the most important fact that you have learnt was that you _must not_ laugh when hearing a man named Pica speak. That was the number 1 rule and you made sure to burn it in your brain.

“I’m home”, you announce when entering your appartment.

You enter the small living room and see Rebecca in the sofa, reading a book.

“Welcome home”, she looks at you with curiosity, “one question, what’s Corazon’s brother’s name?”

 Your eyes open wide. You have been desiring to go home to let out all the frustration you have accumulated for having to work for Doflamingo against your will, but you weren’t expecting that Rebecca brought out the theme.

“Donquixote Doflamingo. Why do you ask?”

“Because you have received a package from him. The postman has brought it half-an-hour ago”

You blink a couple of times with confusion before climbing rapidly the stairs towards your room. There is a relatively big box on your bed and a letter directed to you. Rebecca follows you and arrives at your room when you are grabbing the letter.

“Sooo”, Rebecca smiles teasingly at you while leaning against the door frame, “Corazon’s hot brother sends you presents now? Is there something that you have to tell me, (y/n)?”

“Yes, I have: Doflamingo has discovered that I’m love with Corazon and I have to work for him if I want him to keep the secret”

As you were expecting, a silence falls before Rebecca reacts.

“WHAT?!”

Despite the situation, you laugh when hearing Rebecca’s squeak.

“Yep. I’m a little screwed up”

“B-But he can’t do that!”, she exclaims, looking horrified, “besides, how has he discovered it?!”

“Beats me, but the thing is that for now at least he has me where he wants”, you admit reluctantly.

“Damn, you surely have no luck”, Rebecca says crossing her slender arms, “Corazon is hot but gay and his brother is hot but a demon”

“Hey, I haven’t said that Doflamingo is hot!”

“Yes, you did the other day. And you are blushing right now so it has to be true”

“Becca, have you listened to me? He is blackmailing me, I don’t care how hot he is!”

“You are right, you are right, sorry”, Rebecca approaches you while you finally open the letter, “what does it say?”

You read it aloud.

“ _Dear (y/n). I’ve reached an agreement with Corazon and we’ve decided that you will work for me weekly on Tuesday and Wednesday, and bi-weekly on Friday, which means that you will begin to work for me tomorrow. For that reason, I have sent you the uniform that you will have to wear at work. If you have any questions my number is above, so feel free to contact me. Willing to see you tomorrow, Donquixote Doflamingo”_

“So you are going to have to wear an uniform?”, Rebecca asks while you place the letter aside.

“Well, you should have seen the gangster clothes that they were wearing”, you say while opening the box, “so maybe I have to wear a gangster attire as well to fit the company imag…”, you stop talking abruptly when seeing the mentioned uniform **(1)** , “okay, _this has to be a joke_ ”

Rebecca looks over your shoulder at the clothing that you are sustaining and her eyes open wide.

“Umh…(y/n), are those velvet black panties?”

“Okay, this is a joke”, you keep repeating, looking in horror at the next clothing that consisted of a extremely fitted black mini-skirt, “okay, that man can’t be expecting that I wear this tomorrow!”

“W-Well, the mini-skirt is not so bad. I mean, the design is rather good and okay I hadn’t seen that it has transparencies in its sides”

“And this shirt hasn’t even buttons! And these are fishnets?! Okay, to hell with this. I’m _not_ wearing this tomorrow”

“Wait a moment, (y/n), maybe there has been some kind of mistake. Maybe this is not the correct package and just the letter has arrived correctly”

You hesitate but eventually nod. Doflamingo was a bastard but he hadn’t struck you as a pervert who would make his workers be dressed like that, so as Rebecca had suggested there had to be a mistake.

“Yes, you may be right. I’m going to call Doflamingo right now”

“Hey, can you turn the speaker on so I can hear him as well?”

When seeing Rebecca’s expectant expression you eventually accept.

“Okay, but remain silent”

Rebecca nods obediently and you dial the number. It doesn’t pass much time until you obtain an answer.

“ _Good evening, Doflamingo speaking_ ”

“Wow, he has a sexy voice…”

Even if Rebecca whispers the sentence you glare at her, causing the girl to cover her mouth while mouthing a soundless ‘ _Sorry_ ’.

“Hi, it’s me, (y/n)”

“ _(y/n)? What a nice surprise, I wasn’t expecting hearing from you until tomorrow. What’s the matter?_ ”

You detect the mock on Doflamingo’s voice, which makes you think that the man was lying and that in fact he was expecting your call.

“It’s about the uniform that I have just received”, now that you weren’t face to face with Doflamingo, it was easier to speak with determination, “I think that there has been some kind of mistake. The clothes that I’ve received are a little too sexy to be considered an uniform…”

“ _Oh, so you don’t like it? What a pity. I’ve chosen them specifically for you. I thought that you would be rather gorgeous dressed like that”_

You blush intensely with embarrassment and anger when hearing his teasing tone. So it hadn’t been a mistake! The man was really expecting you to go dressed like that!

“Well, sorry for having made you waste your time but I’m not wearing this tomorrow. If you have a lover of something feel free to re-send it to her but not me”

You hear Doflamingo laugh at the other side of the name.

“ _Sorry, (y/n), but we have a deal. You accepted to work for me…_ ”

“But this was not part of the deal and…!”

“ _…and in return I promised not to tell Corazon certain secret of yours. So the decision is yours: to come tomorrow wearing_ all those clothes _assuring that way Corazon remains unknown of your feelings, or not to follow my indications letting your little secret out. It’s your decision, young lady. Hope you are as clever as I think you are and choose wisely_ ”

With a last devilish laugh Doflamingo hangs up and you keep staring at the phone in disbelief.

“This bastard”, you are about to throw the phone but Rebecca manages to stop you, “he is just mocking me!”

“Yes, it seems that he wants to know how far you are able to go to keep your secret”

You curse and sit down on your bed, glaring at the scattered clothes.

“Look, I know that you don’t like to wear this kind of clothes”, Rebecca reasons cautiously, “but maybe now the best option is that you wear them just for tomorrow. After all, in the letter doesn’t say that you have to wear them all the days, so wearing them just one day won’t be so bad”

When hearing Rebecca’s words, something about what Doflamingo has said clicks in your head and your face illuminates.

“You’re a genius, Becca. I already know what to do”

Rebecca looks at your with surprise.

“So you will wear those clothes tomorrow?”

“Oh, I will. But…”, you smile widely, “…not the way that bastard is thinking”

Rebecca looks at you with confusion while you open your wardrobe still smiling. If Doflamingo thought that you were going to play his game so easily, he was really mistaken.

* * *

 

**(1) Uniform sent by Doffy**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What could your plan be? :P In the next chapter, your work in Doflamingo’s company begins. Will you leave a good impression in the family?!


	6. Part of the family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You accept wearing the ‘uniform’ that Doffy has sent you in your own way. You also meet part of the Donquixote family.

Even if yesterday and this same morning you were super satisfied with the plan you and Rebecca had made up to wear that horrible uniform in a more or less decent way, when finding yourself in front of the gigantic building that turned to be Doflamingo’s company you begin to get nervous, almost hysterical.

You gulp, imagining what Doflamingo’s reaction was going to be. Now that the pessimism had clearly surpassed the optimism that you had been feeling until now, you have reached the conclusion that in the best case scenario Doflamingo would just get angry at you, because in the worst case scenario Doflamingo wouldn’t just get angry at you _but_ he would also call Corazon to tell him your feelings, destroying the friendship that you still shared with your crush and ruining your life and…

…And you shake your head at that moment, forcing yourself to push away those terrifying and depressing thoughts. Damn, if you yourself didn’t believe that everything was going to work definitely it wasn’t going to work! You had to keep calm, and not to panic no matter what Doflamingo said. That was all. It was not that difficult…

…Damn it, yes, indeed it was, but by that point you didn’t have any other option. You had decided to defy Doflamingo and you had to accept the consequences of that decision, so after taking a deep breath you enter the building with all the confidence that you are able to gather (that it wasn’t in the least as much as you’d like).

You look around with curiosity, impressed for how big just the entrance is. You count almost ten elevators and estimates that the building must have more than fifty floors. You wonder how many people were working for Doflamingo, because they had to be a bunch.

“Can I help you with something, dear?”

You are startled when hearing a woman calling for you. You focus on the reception table, the place from where the voice has sounded, and see an old woman with bicolor hair, extremely wide smile, adjusted violet dress and way too much make-up.

“Y-Yes”, you approach the receptionist, not knowing very well how to introduce yourself, “I…umh…I’m here because Doflamingo…”

“Oh, so you are (y/n). Ahahahaha! The young Master wasn’t lying when describing you: young, beautiful and a little anxious”

You insult yourself when feeling your cheeks turn a little red for having been called ‘beautiful’. Jeez, you shouldn’t feel flattered for being called _anything_ by that bastard!

“Follow me”, the woman stands up from the chair and abandons the counter, “the young Master is waiting for you in his office”

You follow the woman inside one of the elevators and your (e/c) eyes open wide when seeing the decoration of its walls.

“What a curious design”

Your innocent comment causes the woman to stare at your with intensity.

“‘ _Curious_ ’?”

When hearing her light offended tone you immediately remember Corazon’s talk about Doflamingo family. Oh crap, so this woman was Jora, the one with a… _peculiar_ artistic talent that you definitely didn’t have to criticize. Well, you better fix your previous comment right now!

“Y-Yes, I mean, if you look at the stoic style of the entrance this…umh…abstract decoration is quite risqué but it makes a really nice contrast with the rest of the building. And it’s really colorful and animated, I totally like it”

For goodness sake, you hadn’t the least idea about what you were saying, but apparently your comment has pleased Jora because the woman laughs again while finally pressing one of the top floors.

“I’m happy to see that you have good eye for the art. I really hate people who have not artistic sense”

You suppress a relieved sigh. You better thank Corazon in earnest for his advices when treating with Donquixote family.

“By the way, your outfit right now is really original”, Jora comments when you have reached half of the floors, “but I thought that a condition for you to join the company was to wear the uniform that the young Master sent you”

You look at Jora, getting incredibly pale.

“Y-You also know about…”

“About you having to work for the young Master because otherwise he will spread your love for Corazon? Ahahahaha! Of course we know. There are no secrets in the family, and I’m desiring to see the young Master’s face when seeing you”

You gulp loudly when hearing the woman giggle with way too much enthusiasm. ‘ _Calm down_ , you repeat to yourself, _everything’s going to be okay. Just calm down and everything will be ok_ a _…oh damn it, we have arrived already!!!_

With trembling legs you leave the elevator after Jora. The woman leads you for a long corridor full of doors with name plates over them. You read the names as you pass by and you recognize almost all the names of the Donquixote family that Corazon mentioned you the previous day.

At some point, several laughs begin to sound from the door of the end of the corridor, and when seeing the name that is written in golden letters over the frame you begin to sweat. It seemed that you have reached your destination.

“Here we are”, Jora announces happily, “oh, it seems that the young Master is in a reunion with the top branch right now”

“W-Well, in that case maybe we shouldn’t interrupt him”, you say hurriedly, “I can come back later when he finishes”

“Oh, it’s alright. He asked me to warn him immediately when you arrived”

You exhale a nervous laugh.

“Great”, you mutter to yourself.

Jora knocks at the door three times and the laughs from inside the office quite down a little.

“Yes?”

You shiver when hearing Doflamingo’s voice coming from the inside. Sexy voice your ass, his voice was scary as hell!

“Young Master, (y/n) has arrived”

“Oh? has she?”, the amusement on his voice was clear as water right now, “and tell me, Jora, is she wearing the uniform that I sent to her?”

Several laughs accompany Doflamingo’s last question, making you redden with frustration, but you don’t have time to react because Jora immediately answers.

“No, she isn’t”

You hear Doflamingo’s odious laugh.

“Well, in that case tell her that I won’t receive her until she wears it”

Your hands turn into fists, anger boiling inside you when those annoying laughs sound again. That bastard. Very well: if he wanted to play, then you were on.

“Well, dear, you have heard the young Master. If you want to meet him you should get changed befo…wait, what are you doing?!”

Jora’s sentence ends with a piercing shout when you rudely snap open the door of the office. The three men who are accompanying Doflamingo stop laughing immediately and look at you with surprise. One of them was Trebol, the man that was accompanying Doflamingo when he visited Corazon’s shop for the first time; other of the men was extremely long and thin, with long brown hair and a mouth that occupied almost all his face; and finally, the last man was extremely muscular and had lavender hair and thick lips.

However, you have no time to deduce who those men were because your eyes are only for the blonde bastard who is sitting in his desk with his legs crossed and looking at you with a now lightly surprised expression on his face.

“Y-Young Master, I’m so sorry!”, Jora stomps in the room after you and immediately begins to apologize, “I was telling her to go to get changed but then she…”

“I don’t need to get changed”, you interrupt Jora cuttingly without averting your eyes from Doflamingo, “because I am already wearing the ridiculous outfit that you sent to me”

You approach the center of the room with determined steps and bend down a little to roll up your trousers legs a little.

“These are the fishnets that you sent to me”

You incorporate and signal the buttonless white shirt that you are wearing over a long-sleeve t-shirt of your favorite color.

“This is the shirt that you sent to me”

You remove brusquely the improvised cap that you have been wearing on the head all this time and unfolded it.

“And this is the mini-skirt that you sent to me. As you can see, I’m wearing _all the clothes_ that you sent, which means that I don’t need to get changed in any way because I fulfilled your stupid request of wearing that horrible uniform”

You cross your arms when finishing speaking and take a deep breath, preparing yourself for Doflamingo’s reaction. Shit, you have got carried away and have been rather rude during your speech, and considering how much Doflamingo cared about being respectful you have made him mad for sure, but you couldn’t help it! You were tired of being mocked and you definitely weren’t going to allow him to humiliate you.

And about the whole uniform thing, Doflamingo’s orders had just been to wear all the clothes of the uniform, and since he had never said anything about ‘not wearing other clothes’ you were following his indications.

Okay, your way of wearing the mini-skirt thing was a little questionable but you had tried to wear the trousers under it and it had been impossible: the skirt was too tight and after a few useless attempts (that had made Rebecca laugh a lot while you suffered in the process) you decided to give up in wearing it for real; and well, there was also certain piece of clothing that you preferred not to remember where it was _but_ you were still wearing it.

So, in conclusion, Doflamingo couldn’t reproach you anything because, technically, you have fulfilled the deal. However, it was true that was just an interpretation that you have made in order to save yourself the embarrassment of walking the street looking like a sexy secretary, so if the man began to argue considering how loquacious Doflamingo was you would probably have problems in arguing back and…

“Behehehehe! See?! See?! We have won the bet so Diamante, Pica and Jora, you have to pay Doffy and me now, neee!”

“Tsk. This is unfair. You never mentioned that the girl had guts”

“That’s true! Besides, young Master, you told us that she got nervous too quickly and she hasn’t even trembled while talking to you!”

“Diamante and Jora are right! You have purposely omitted information!”

At any other moment you would have probably had difficulties to keep your laughing under control when hearing Pica’s incredible loud voice, but at that moment you were just observing in utter confusion how Diamante and Pica begin to search in the pockets of their jackets and Jora inside the pockets of her dress while Trebol extends his hands with his palms facing up, impatiently waiting for his money to come.

“Umh…I…I don’t understand what…”

Your babbling attempt of question is cut with Doflamingo’s characteristic laugh. You look at the man again and are surprised when seeing a satisfied smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, (y/n), I think that I owe you some kind of explanation”, Doflamingo leans his chin over his hands before continuing speaking, “I don’t know if you remember what I mentioned about the people under my command”

You think for a moment before answering.

“That you liked when answered back even when being afraid?”

Doflamingo’s smile widens a little more.

“Precisely. And you have just proved to me that you are definitely able to do that, because not many people would have the nerve to enter my office with the conviction you’ve showed right now, either they would dare to re-interpret my orders as you’ve done”

“So this whole uniform thing…”, you begin hesitantly, “…was it just some kind of test?”

“Behehehehe!”, at that moment Trebol talks, “yes, that’s what it was, neee. And Doffy and I knew that you were going to pass it so we bet on your behalf, neee!”

“And we would have done that too if you hadn’t cheated!”, Pica intervenes suddenly while Diamante and Jora nod, and you find yourself biting your bottom lip not to let out a soft chuckle.

Well, at least even if Doflamingo was a damn blackmailer it seemed that his family wasn’t as bad as you have supposed. In fact, they were kind of funny. And you definitely were grateful that the man was just testing you. Yes, you have suffered in the process because of the nervousness but it was a relief to know that your new boss wasn’t the kind of bastard that forces women to be dressed pretty for him. That would be absolutely despicable.

“Although, truth to be told”, Doflamingo intervenes then, “even if I prefer the decision that you’ve taken, I can’t help to feel curious about how that outfit would have looked on you, young lady”

You find your cheeks heat up in an instant when Doflamingo purposely scans you at that moment, as if he was imagining how you would be dressed like that, and the fact that the man’s tone was just lightly joking doesn’t help to make you less embarrassed.

“Well, I think that it’s time to show (y/n) where she is going to work for now on”, you are incredible happy when hearing Jora’s proposition, “I was thinking in installing her in Buffalo and Baby 5’s office. Do you see it suitable, young master?”

“Yes, I think it is a good idea”, Doflamingo turns to look at Diamante, Trebol and Pica, “can you help Jora with the installation?”

Trebol simply laughs while nodding and follows Jora out of the room. Diamante keeps sulking to himself for the lost bet and Pica says a high-pitched goodbye that, this time, you can handle without smiling. You are about to follow the three men but, as you were in part fearing, Doflamingo stops you.

“Wait a moment, (y/n). There are a couple of things that I would like to discuss”

You remain standing in front of Doflamingo, waiting for him to keep talking.

“I’m surprised that you haven’t reacted to Pica’s voice”

Doflamingo’s comment was casual but his tone of voice makes you be careful with your next words.

“Well, he hasn’t the voice that you would expect to hear in a man like him”, you end saying. You hesitate in how to continue but when remembering what Doflamingo thought about liars you decide to risk yourself with the truth, “I admit that I think that it’s kind of funny to hear him speak but I know that he is rather sensitive with the matter so I’ll make sure not to point that out”

Doflamingo shows a surprised expression.

“And how do you know that?”

Again, there was no point in lying.

“Corazon told me about your family the other day”, you confess, beginning to enumerate with your fingers, “he told me that Pica doesn’t like when people laughs at his voice, that Jora doesn’t like when people criticize her art, that Diamante doesn’t take compliments well but that it’s necessary to compliment him until he eventually accepts it, that it’s better not to tell Lao G that he is too old because otherwise he will begin to make martial arts that will strain his back, that Baby 5 is a little disaster with her romantic life and that you better not say that you need her…”, you think to yourself for a moment, “…and I think that those were the most important facts that I had to know”

When finishing speaking you realize that Doflamingo is looking at you rather impressed before chuckling.

“Well, Corazon surely is a good informer. And didn’t he tell anything about me?”

You hesitate again but at the end you talk.

“Yes, that you are really persuasive and that sometimes you use not-too-good methods to get what you want, but I already knew that”

This time Doflamingo bursts out laughing when hearing your resigned tone.

“My little brother surely knows me well”, Doflamingo stands up at that moment from his chair and circles his desk to be leaning against it, “very well, (y/n), I’m glad to see that you know a lot about the family, but there is a really important thing that Corazon didn’t mention and that you must know”

Doflamingo’s tone becomes this time so serious that you gulp.

“And that thing is that I won’t forgive anyone who tries to make the family any harm. Also, as long as you work here, I consider you part of the family as well, which means that everyone will trust you and that you will be able to trust in everyone, and in case someone dares to betray any of us…”, Doflamingo’s smile turns cruel, “…that someone will have to respond to me, and that’s something that I wouldn’t recommend anyone. Have I made myself clear?”

You gulp in an attempt to wet your dried throat and nod. Shit, definitely Doflamingo was the scariest man that you have met in all your life.

“Good. Now that everything is clarified…”, the seriousness in Doflamingo’s tone was replace by teasing, “…there is something else I’m curious about”

Somehow, you know that you weren’t going to like that ‘something’ Doflamingo has mentioned.

“Before you have claimed that you were wearing _all the clothes_ that I sent you”

Your cheeks redden in an instant when hearing Doflamingo’s words. Oh, _shit_.

“But if my memory doesn’t fail me…”, Doflamingo continues crossing his arms, “I recall certain piece clothing that you haven’t proved to be wearing right now”

You feel your heart pounding fast inside your chest. Definitely you have been too naïve thinking that Doflamingo was going to forget about that.

“So since the deal, as you have said before, was to wear all the clothes _and_ you have shown them to me as a prove…”, Doflamingo’s devilish smile grows more, “…shouldn’t you show _that_ to me as well, (y/n)?”

You let out a sigh. Certainly, you would prefer not having to show the black velvet panties to him because Doflamingo was going to laugh at you for sure, but if there wasn’t any other option…

At that moment, Doflamingo surprises you by chuckling.

“I was just teasing you, you don’t need to show anything to me. As I’ve said, you are part of the family now and I’ll believe your word”

You blink confused when hearing Doflamingo, but almost immediately you understand it. It seemed that Doflamingo really thought that you were wearing the panties at that moment. Now it’s your turn to suppress a smirk. Well, it was time to pay him back a little for all the teasing you had suffered until now.

“Actually…”, when hearing you speak Doflamingo, who has been about to sit again in his desk, stops in his tracks and looks at you again, “…I don’t mind to show them to you”

Oh… _god_ …You weren’t prepared for how _good_ it was going to feel to see Doflamingo’s smile freeze for the first time since you met him. And yes, his expression had barely changed but you could see how awkward the man was feeling right now.

“No, it won’t be necessary”, Doflamingo recovers from his stupor and adopts again his usual joking tone, “besides, I don’t want you to accuse me from sexual harassment”

“Oh, it won’t be”, you say with a reassuring tone, “after all…”, you make sure to casually settle your hands over your trousers and suppress another smirk when Doflamingo tenses again, “…I’m voluntarily deciding to show them to you, so it won’t be any problem”

This time, you swear that Doflamingo has suppressed a gulp when you make the gesture of beginning to lower your trousers. He opens his mouth to speak, surely to tell you to stop, and that’s when you suddenly remove the bracelet that Corazon gave to you as a present from your right wrist.

“Here they are”, you say a little too theatrically, swinging your wrist to show your improvised panties-bracelet, “I know that it’s not the usual way to wear them, but I’m wearing them nevertheless so still fulfilled the deal, right?”

Doflamingo stares at you in silence for some seconds, his mouth a little opened in what you correctly guess is disbelief. For once, it seemed that he was a little at a loss of words so you dare to show an obvious fake innocent smile before talking again.

“ _Oh_ , so you were thinking that I was wearing them from real… I’m sorry, I think that I have not expressed myself well enough”

The truth is that until five minutes ago you were feeling embarrassed for wearing them hidden under the bracalet, but after seeing how uncomfortable you have made Doflamingo feel you weren’t feeling that way anymore.

There are more seconds of certainly tense silence, and then Doflamingo begins to laugh loudly.

“Well, well, correct me if I’m mistaken but could it be…”, Doflamingo begins to approach you, stopping once he has clearly invaded your personal space to lean over you until your faces are way closer than proper etiquette would recommend, “… that you were mocking me right now, young lady?”

Obviously, Doflamingo’s imposing presence so close to you makes you get a little nervous, but since this time you don’t detect any actual threaten in his words, and in fact the man was smiling rather appreciatively at you, you keep your now satisfied smile in place.

“Of course not. I wouldn’t dare. _Boss_ ”

Your words clearly contrast with your defiant expression, and hearing that mocking word coming from your mouth only causes Doflamingo to smile at you even more.

“My dear (y/n)…”, Doflamingo approaches his face to yours until your breathings are almost mixing, making you suffer a shiver and your heart beat faster, “you’re playing with fire right now. And, surprising as may be, I don’t dislike it at all”

You bite your bottom lip not to sigh when Doflamingo licks slowly his bottom lip after purring those last words, and against your will your eyes deviates momentarily to the man’s mouth, which inexplicably looks rather tempting to you at that moment…

“Young Master, everything is ready for (y/n)…”

When suddenly hearing Jora you immediately separate from Doflamingo, angry to yourself for your own thoughts.

Shit, what the hell was wrong with you?! That was the man who was threatening you to tell Corazon about your feelings for him, who has forcing you to work for him, so you should hate him, damn it, not be playing with him!

 “Oh?”, obviously, your sudden retreat has just resulted incredible suspicious to Jora, who now is looking at you both with her eyebrows raised, “Have I interrupted something?”

“O-Of course not!”, you snap without thinking before turning to look at Doflamingo, who was looking way too much satisfied right now, “i-if we haven’t anything more to discuss I would like to begin to work right now. After all I’m just going to be here until 7 p.m.”

When Doflamingo doesn’t say anything for a couple of seconds you seriously fear a (this time deserved) teasing comment from him regarding your behavior, but at the end the man seems to have mercy on you and simply nods.

“You are right, you better make the most of your time here. Jora, please, accompany (y/n) to her workplace”

Jora makes a little inclination and you abandon the office hurriedly after her, not daring to look back at Doflamingo even if you clearly feel the way he was staring at your back.

“How strange”, Jora comments suddenly while you come back to the elevator, “I thought that you were in love with the young Master’s brother”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I am!”, you say immediately.

“Well, then maybe it was my imagination”, Jora says while entering the elevator, “but you both seemed to be flirting when I have entered”

“WHAT?!”, you literally shout, “we weren’t _flirting_ , we were just talking, that’s all!!”

Jora exhales a loud ‘Ahahahaha!’ before offering you a frustratingly knowing smile.

“If you say so…”

Jora doesn’t stop laughing during the whole elevator ride, and you decide that from now on you better avoid Doflamingo as much as possible to prevent completely unjustifiable misunderstandings about your feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeell, I’m smelling unconscious attraction :D 
> 
> **Spoiler of the next chapter!** : Law visits the shop, Corazon tries to confess his feelings again, and you go to one of Bartolomeo’s concert where you meet more members of the Donquixote family :)


	7. Concert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After playing Casanova once again for Corazon’s sake, you go to one of Bartolomeo’s concerts on the weekend. The night becomes a little accidental when you meet there another member of Donquixote family.

During that afternoon and the next day afternoon you work in Doflamingo’s company. Because of the division that Doflamingo had been forced to do in order to avoid ‘ _certain legal problems_ ’ with the authorities of Dressrosa, the database of clients had been also modified. Consequently, you spent two afternoons of rather boring work that basically consisted of verifying that the data of clients stored in the database were correctly updated.

Fortunately, Buffalo helped you with that tedious task. At first, when you were introduced to the man you initially doubted that he was going to be much of a help, since when entering the office he was having snacks while watching anime.  However, the moment you explained him how he could help you (basically to cross out the clients that you were verifying) he helped you without protesting and didn’t laze around at all. Theoretically, Baby 5 was going to work with you two but the girl was depressed because her last boyfriend had left her and she refused to leave home to cry her sorrows.

You also met more members of the Donquixote family: Machvise and Gladius, Doflamingo’s bodyguards, and Senor Pink, the PR assistant. You saw the first two men just once and through the office’s window, when Doflamingo left the company because of a reunion accompanied by them. And about the Senor Pink, even if it got a little on your nerves his weird way of catcalling, he was rather polite and helped you a couple of times that you had doubts about the way the database worked. Of course it would be better if he wasn’t wearing that ridiculous pacifier and pink bonnet that didn’t match the rest of his normal black suit at all, but well, that seemed to be part of his hidden charm because otherwise you couldn’t explain why he had so many female coworkers around clinging to him and hopelessly in love.

So, in conclusion, against all odds your first two afternoons in the company were rather relaxed. Well, if things kept going that way maybe it wasn’t so bad to work for Doflamingo, although the less you saw the man the best. You didn’t want to give the impression that you were flirting with him ever again. God, you still blushed when remembering your awkward ride in the elevator with Jora laughing and justifying that ‘ _it was normal to want to flirt with the young Master because he was attractive and interesting_ ’.

But well, even if for now you weren’t too disgusted with working for Doflamingo, you obviously preferred to work for Corazon without any doubt. Indeed, when you arrive on Thursday at the shop you are so happy to be able to see the man again that you have even forgotten what happened that Thursday, and you don’t remember it until entering the tent and seeing Trafalgar Law in the shop.

Against your will, you tense when seeing the doctor, and you reaction doesn’t go unnoticed by Trafalgar because he immediately tenses as well. Crap, if you wanted to keep being Corazon’s friend you better get along with his crush!

“O-Oh, good afternoon”, you force a smile that comes out just a little fake, “I didn’t remember that you were going to try on the costume”

“Yes, Corazon-san has gone to the measurement room to finish the last details”

“Oh, great”

Trafalgar doesn’t do any attempt of continuing the conversation, so an extremely awkward silence falls next. Crap, crap, crap, you better say something. That silence was just too much, but you honestly don’t know about what to talk with that person! The only thing that you knew you had in common was probably to be in love with Corazon and that wasn’t a proper topic of conversation!

“Hey, (y/n), help me with this, please. Cabbage doesn’t want to do it not to break his delicate nails”

“It’s not that, idiot. I’ve already explained to you that I can’t risk myself to sweat too much because I have a modeling session after working here”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Barbie”

At that moment Bartolomeo and Cavendish appear from the backshop, the first one carrying a couple of heavy-looking bags and the second one a ridiculous small box, and you feel like kissing your coworkers right then for having interrupted that uncomfortable situation.

“I’m going”, you left Trafalgar with a brief inclination and help your friends to carry everything to the measurement room.

You were expecting to see Corazon there finishing the last details as Trafalgar has said, but instead of doing that Corazon was just sitting on the floor with his knees flexed, arms surrounding them and a panic expression on his face.

“Corazon?”, Bartolomeo huffs when you stop helping him carry the bag and all the weight comes back to him, “sorry, Barto”, you apologize while rapidly crouching in front of Corazon, “are you alright? What happens?”

“I can’t do it”, Corazon says nervously, “I’ve thought it better and I can’t…”

Corazon seems to realize then that Bartolomeo and Cavendish are still there because he stops talking suddenly. You sigh.

“Bartolomeo and Cavendish know that you like the doctor”

Corazon’s eyes become fully opened before looking at the two young men, who look at him a little apologetically.

“Sorry, Cora-senpai, you weren’t being so subtle”

“You neither when you let the secret slip…”

“ _Cabbage_!”

“Corazon, listen to me”, you place your hands over Corazon’s knees making him focus on you again and not get distracted by Bartolomeo and Cavendish’s discussion, “there is no reason to panic. You have just to go out there, give the doctor his costume and confess. That’s all!”

Corazon laughs nervously.

“Hearing you say that makes it look easy but I don’t know if I can. Look at my hands…”, Corazon raises his hands and you see that they are shaking, “…I can’t even make them stay still. If I try to talk to him now I’m sure that I’m going to babble like an idiot, say something incredibly stupid and ruin everything”

You smile. When you first accepted your feelings for Corazon the first days you were also pretty nervous, but as the time passed you managed to hide those nervous symptoms more or less acceptably. Or at least that’s what you thought until Doflamingo appeared and read you as if you were a damn open book.

“Look, the other day you didn’t notice it because you were too focused on your doing your work, but when Trafalgar came he was also nervous while you measured him”

Corazon showed a surprised expression.

“Really?”

You nod.

“Yep. So don’t worry for being nervous because probably he is as well, so you just go out there and follow the plan. I’ll be there to intervene if you chicken out and try to run away”

Corazon chuckles with embarrassment before exhaling a deep breath.

“Okay”, Corazon stands up and smiles at you, “thanks”

You keep your blushing under control. Damn, you were super weak to that soft smile of his.

“Don’t mention it”, you say cheerily, and after making your two idiot friends to stop fighting (again…) you follow Corazon out of the room.

The moment Trafalgar sees Corazon appear his face automatically illuminates, although his tension keeps being there. After an extremely brief casual chat, Corazon asks Trafalgar to enter the changing room to try on the costume.

Five minutes later Trafalgar Law reappears dressed as a really attractive vampire: black trousers with red motives at the bottom of them, tailored vest, a white shirt with discreet but beautiful ruffles on its front, and a red imposing cape that had the shape of bat wings when Trafalgar extended his arms.

“Do you feel comfortable with all the clothes? Is there something that I should adjust more or let looser?”

You suppress a tiny smile. When entering his working mode on, Corazon immediately forgot his nervousness and turned into the professional he was.

“No, it’s perfect this way”, Trafalgar says, circling around himself so that Corazon could admire his own work, “I think the client is going to be really satisfied”

Corazon’s face indicates that for a moment he had forgotten the lie that you have made up about asking Trafalgar for help to create a costume for a client.

“Y-Yes, he will be very happy for sure”, Corazon clears his throat, “so thank you so much for your help. If you hadn’t acted as a model I would have been unable to do it”

Trafalgar blushes lightly when hearing Corazon’s thanks.

“It’s nothing. I’m glad to have helped you”

You look alternatively at the two idiots keep quiet without continuing. You suppress a resigned sigh, realizing that nor Corazon nor Trafalgar were to confess. ‘ _Okay, (y/n), time to play Casanova once again_ ’.

“Boss, you should do something to compensate him. After all he has come here two days just to help you”

You are about to laugh when seeing Trafalgar get even redder.

“O-Oh, that’s not necessary…”

“Yes, it is”, you turn to look at Corazon reproachfully, “boss, when you asked Bartolomeo and Cavendish do extra hours during last year Carnival you invited them to dinner, right?”

“Did he?”, Bartolomeo whines when Cavendish subtly hits him in the ribs with his elbow, “o-oh, yeah, he totally did! And what a good dinner we had, right Cavendish?!”

“Yes, he invited us to that simple but rather nice restaurant which is ideal to have not necessarily romantic conversations”

“Oh, yes, I went there as well with Rebecca and it was awesome. He has a lot of meals that doesn’t have bread. So boss, since you invited Bartolomeo and Cavendish for that reason you should invite Trafalgar as well. Don’t you think?”

You see Corazon suppressing a smile after you finish your reasoning before finally turning to Trafalgar, and the man was so red that that helps Corazon to calm down a little.

“Well, (y/n) has a point there so what do you say, doctor? Would you accept an invitation for all your help?”

Trafalgar looks momentarily at you, a little confused, before looking at Corazon again and nodding a little hastily. 

“Yes, of course”, Trafalgar clears his voice when his tone sounds unexpectedly animated, thing that makes him look younger for a moment, “could you tell me your phone number? That way we can arrange how and when we are going to meet”

Corazon doesn’t bother to hide his wide smile while extracting his mobile so fast from the pocket of his trousers that the device almost goes flying in the air. You suppress a sad smile. It hurts a little to see Corazon so enthusiastic to date someone else but, as always, you manage to hide it.

 After interchanging numbers Trafalgar announces that he has to go back to the clinic and leaves the shop. This time, when saying goodbye to you he inclines his head and looks at you with a soft thankful smile, and you deduce that the man was clever enough to have realized that you had something to do in the whole date thing.

“Oh god”, Corazon exhales when the door closes behind Trafalgar. He looks at you with his eyes bright before hugging you with such force that all the air of your lungs disappears, “(y/n), this month I’m going to pay you double, I swear” 

You blush intensely, returning the hug while Bartolomeo and Cavendish burst out laughing when realizing that Corazon wasn’t joking, and despite you try to convince Corazon that it’s not necessary, you end giving up because if there was something that you thought Donquixote Brothers definitely had in common was their stubbornness.

* * *

“Are you sure that you don’t want to come to the concert?”

Rebecca shakes her head negatively. She is comfortably lying in your bed while you finish getting dressed.

“No, thank you. You know that punk-rock this is not my style of music”

You laugh when hearing Rebecca’s answer. It is Saturday night and you are about to go to the local where Bartolomeo worked as well, the ‘Sharp Fang’, to see one of his concerts. As you promised Bartolomeo the previous weekend when he helped you find the fabric for Trafalgar’s costume, during that whole week you had been distributing flyers of his concerts in the University. Thanks to that,  a bunch of people was going to go that Saturday to see ‘the Barto Club’ perfomance, and since Bartolomeo had insisted in inviting you, you had eventually accepted.

“Okay, I’m ready”, at that moment your mobile sounds, indicating that you have received a message.

“Who is it?”

You are tempted to lie because you know what Rebecca’s reaction is going to be when hearing your answer.

“Corazon. He is meeting with Trafalgar in half-an-hour and is a little hysterical”

“… _Oh_ ”

You begin to laugh when Rebecca manages to let you know what she thinks with just that monosyllable.

“What? Now I haven’t said anything”, Rebecca replies with an innocent tone while you keep laughing, “I’ve accepted that my friend is an idiot who digs her own romantic life grave”

“I’m not digging anything”, you reply after wishing Corazon luck, “I’m just doing the correct thing”

Rebecca sighs in defeat while you put your coat on.

“By the way, I know that you are going to kill me for what I’m going to say but I googled Corazon’s brother’s name”

You look at Rebecca with a ‘really?’ expression.

“What? I was just curious about him after hearing him on the phone”

“Oh, yeah?”, you ask with irony, “and what’s your verdict?”

“Well, if you ignore the fact that he is a bastard who is trying to ruin your chances with Corazon, according to what I’ve read the man seems to be clever, rich and hot as hell”

You roll your eyes.

“It’s a pity that that first part is what counts the most, not to mention that his business are not entirely legal”

“Oh, really? If I found I guy like him I don’t think I’d care about the legality of his work that much”

“ _Becca_ …”

“Come on, (y/n), google ‘Donquixote Doflamingo’: there are some pictures of him in a swimsuit when he was in Dressrosa beach on holidays and _god._ I can’t believe that he is 41: his body is way too perfect for that age…”

“Okaaaay, I think I’m leaving. I’ve had enough with you fangirling over the man who is blackmailing me”

“(y/n), you are red as a tomato. Are you maybe imagining Doflamingo in a swimsuit right now?”

“ _Becca, I’ve said I’m leaving_!”

Obviously, your sulking comment just causes Rebecca to keep teasing you until you leave the apartment.

* * *

When you arrive at the ‘Sharp Fang’ Bartolomeo and his group are already on the stage about to start. After waving his hand towards him you go ask Iva for your favorite drink. The man doesn’t let you pay it because according to him: ‘ _there are so many people here thanks to vyou_ ’, so after giving up on paying it you choose a discreet seat next to one of the columns of the local and get yourself comfortable to watch the concert.

After half a dozen of songs, you come back to the bar counter to ask for another drink. Iva has just served it to you when you notice a man with turtleneck, hood and sunglasses hiding behind one of the columns. You raise an eyebrow, confused at first, but at that moment the man changes his weight from one foot to another and his delicate movement that you immediately recognize.

You take a sip of your drink and smile with amusement before finally approaching the suspicious man.

“Excuse me”, the blonde man jumps in his seat when you softly tap his shoulder to catch his attention, “do I know you?”

The man clears his throat awkwardly.

“S-Sorry, miss, but I haven’t seen you in all my lif…o-oi!”

You rapidly remove the man’s hood and exhale a triumphant laugh.

“AHA! I knew it was you!”

“ _Ssssh_!!! Don’t speak so loud!!”

“Nobody is going to hear me even if I shout, Cavendish, we are in a concert”, you smile at him teasingly, “what’s wrong? Don’t you want that Bartolomeo knows that you like his music?”

Despite the darkness of the place you see Cavendish’s pale skin turn red in a moment.

“I-I don’t like it! I was just passing by and…”, Cavendish seems to realize that it’s useless to make up excuses at that point because he exhales a resigned sigh, “okay, fine: I may kind of like just a little bit that idiot’s music, but please don’t you dare to tell him”

“Why not?”, you ask, “I’m sure that he would be really happy to know that you have come. After all he invited you as well”

Cavendish huffed.

“No, he didn’t. He just said: ‘ _Well, Cabbage, I would invite you but I’m sure that a pompous prince like you doesn’t appreciate this vulgar music_ ’”

You laugh when Cavendish imitates quite accurately Bartolomeo’s voice.

“Come on, you know how rude Bartolomeo is. That was his way to invite you”

Cavendish seems a little relieved but still he shakes his head.

“Even if it’s as you say don’t tell him anything. I don’t want to pump that idiot’s ego too muc- oh crap, it’s the recess and that idiot is coming to talk to you. Don’t say that you have seen me!”

Before you can say anything Cavendish disappears from your view just a couple of seconds before Bartolomeo approaches you.

“Hey, (y/n)!”, the guy greets you with a wide smile, “are you liking the concert?”

“Yeah, your new themes are awesome”, your tone becomes teasing, “and I didn’t know you had so much success. I think I’ve seen a girl throwing a bra towards the stage”

“Yeah, I have it here”, you burst out laughing when Bartolomeo extracts the pink bra from the pocket of his baggy trousers, “by the way, who was the guy you were talking to? He kind of reminded me to the idiot Cabbage but I know that’s impossible”

You hesitate. Well, technically you haven’t promised Cavendish anything, and something in the way Cavendish was blushing when you caught him and the way Bartolomeo seems a little disappointed right now makes you suddenly think that maybe those two fought so much for a reason quite different from pure hate.

“It was Cavendish”

Bartolomeo’s eyes open wide.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. He has come to watch your concert but he didn’t want you to discover that he likes your music”

Bartolomeo snort but it was obvious that he was happy for the news. Oh god, could it really be that those two liked each other?

“That idiot. I mock him for a lot of things but not for this. I even invited him to come”

“Weeell, maybe insulting him while inviting him wasn’t the best idea”, you joke, causing Bartolomeo to laugh with certain embarrassment.

“Yeah, maybe you are right. I have to go back to the stage but after the concert I’ll go to talk with that idiot”

“Okay, but please don’t tell him that I’ve told you”, you say, “just pretend that you have found him by chance. He will be hiding behind that column”

Bartolomeo nods effusively.

“Don’t worry, (y/n), it will be piece of cake! Bartolomeo ‘the Pretender’ is my second name!”

You smile while seeing Bartolomeo disappear into the crowd towards the stage. Knowing how easy to read Bartolomeo was you knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep your secret but well, you have told him just in case.

After half-of-dozen of more songs the concert finishes. You make sure to pay attention to Cavendish. You observe with amusement how he tries to leave subtly the local when Bartolomeo suddenly stomps onto him. Obviously they fight for a little while at first but to your surprise at some point they begin to _talk_ , and they even take a seat in of the high tables that are spread on the local and keep talking instead of quarreling. Well, it seemed that your suspicions about those two liking each other more than they were able to show weren’t completely wrong.

You spend a couple more of minutes observing your two friends on the distance, not wanting to interrupt them, but when a yawn escapes from your mouth you decide that maybe it’s time to go home.

You put your coat on again and are about to approach Bartolomeo and Cavendish to say them goodbye when suddenly something catches your attention: a really beautiful girl with long black hair and with a figure that had nothing to envy to Rebecca’s one was clinging to a man who could easily be her father. She had obviously drunk a lot and the disagreeable expression that was on her companion’s face indicated that he planned to make the most of the intoxicated state of the girl.

You frown with disgust and after leaving your drink in the nearest table you approach the pair, ready to delicately tell the man to fuck off and leave the girl alone. However, just when you are about to shout at the man you hear the girl speak with a sticky voice.

“Alright, I’ll go to your apartment. After all you need me, don’t you?! ♥”

Your eyes snap open. That sentence immediately makes something click in your head.

“Baby 5?”

Though a little off of balance the girl immediately turns towards you.

“Yes?”

The disgusting man glares at you for having interrupted them but you completely ignore him and talk to Baby 5 again. You would have intervened no matter what but now that you knew who the girl was even more so, since Corazon had told you how easily influenced Baby 5 could be.

“I’m (y/n). Doflamingo has hired me to work in the company”

“Ohhh, so you’re (y/n)!! Doffy mentioned you the other day!!!”

You note down yourself a win when the girl stops embracing the man, whose irritation obviously grows. It was time to get out of there before things turn tense.

“Look, what if we go to a calmer place to talk? Doing it here is a little difficult”

 “O-Oh, but…”, as you were fearing Baby 5 turns to look at the man with hesitation, “he says he needs me so I should go with him first”

“Yes, sweetie”, you make a grimace when the man encloses an arm around Baby 5’s shoulders, “I really need you right now, and you see how much fun we have”

You see horrified how Baby 5 blushes and looks at the man with almost adoration. Okay, you would prefer not having to use Baby 5’s weakness against her but it was for a good cause.

“B-But I need your help too, Baby 5!”, you would swear having heard Baby 5’s neck crack when she rapidly looks at you with her eyes open wide. _Yes_!, “I really _need you_ right now, it would be great that you could _help me_ , so you aren’t going to leave a member of the family in the lurch, right?”

Baby 5 blink several times. For a moment you fear that at the end she decided to go with the man but at that moments Baby 5’s eyes illuminate and she grabs you by your arms with way more force that she seemed to have.

“Oooh so you need me that much?! Of course I’ll help you ♥!!”

“Hey, wait a moment!”, the man settles a hand over Baby 5’s naked shoulder and looks at you , visibly pissed off, “sorry, but I saw this cutie first and I’m not leaving without he-”

“Who do you think you’re touching, hah?!”

Your mouth falls opened when hearing Baby 5 say that with a rude tone that doesn’t suit her previous innocent one, and your stupor increases even more when the girl snaps the man hand’s away and gives him a kick just in his crotch, causing the poor bastard to double over in the floor while exhaling an extremely pained whine.

“(y/n) has just said that she needs me so don’t interfere”, Baby 5 snarls before turning to you with her angelical expression, “sooo what do you need me to do ♥?!”

You let out a laugh that is nervous and impressed at the same time before grabbing her wrist.

“I need you to let me accompany you home, so let’s get out of here”

“Ooh, just that? But it’s still too early…”, Baby 5 protests but she follows you clumsily through the crowd.

“I know but I really need you to do that for me”, you put your best puppy expression and looks at her, “will you do it for me?”

Baby 5 blushes intensely and nods effusively.

“Y-Yes, of course! If you need me to let you do that so much I’ll totally let you ♥!!”

You smile softly and sustain Baby 5 by her arm when the girl is about to lose balance. You feel a little of pity for her. Why a girl who was so strong could be manipulated so easily with the excuse of needing her? Definitely, something had happened to that girl but you couldn’t imagine what.

At some point of your walking you feel someone enclose an arm around your waist. You tense immediately, ready to push away the audacious idiot that has dared to touch you with such familiarity without asking for permission, but then you recognize the sharp smile and punk style of the man in question.

“Didn’t know you swing that way, (y/n)”

You snort with a smile when hearing Bartolomeo’s teasing comment.

“I don’t. I’m just taking her home”, you lean towards Bartolomeo to whisper the next sentence in his ear so that Baby 5 couldn’t hear you, although you were pretty sure that the girl was too affected to hear anything, “She works for Corazon’s brother and apparently she is a disaster with her romantic life, so I’m going to get her out of here before anyone else tries something with her”

Bartolomeo hums to himself.

“Do you want me to accompany you both?”

“No, it’s okay. I’m going to take a taxi. Besides…”, it’s your turn to smirk with amusement, “…you seem really animated talking with Cavendish and I’m sure he will be disappointed if you leave him alone”

Bartolomeo immediately catches your not-subtle-at-all innuendo about Cavendish and looks at you with a ‘ _really?_ ’ expression.

“(y/n), are you really suggesting what I think you are suggesting?”

You shrug exaggeratedly.

“Who knows?”

Bartolomeo rolls his eyes and ruffles your hair as a punishment for the teasing.

“Come on, stop making up things and leave before this girl falls asleep standing”, Bartolomeo says signaling at Baby 5, that indeed seemed about to fall asleep at any moment.

“Okay”, you smile at Bartolomeo, “thanks for the invitation. You already know that it’s not my favorite music but the concert has been great as always”

Bartolomeo smiles widely and winks at you.

“Thanks for coming. Although next time I won’t let you leave so soon”

You laugh because Bartolomeo tells you the same every time that you went to one of his concerts. After waving your hand as a goodbye you keep leading (or better said, _dragging_ ) Baby 5 with you until you leave the local.

Since you were in a bars zone it doesn’t take you much to stop a taxi. However, by when you manage to put Baby 5 inside the taxi the girl is practically asleep and your attempts to discover where the girl lives are useless. After some minutes you decide that the best option is to ask for help. Your mobile had decided to run out battery some hours ago so you have no other option than to borrow the girl’s mobile. Fortunately, it didn’t have a lock code so you can rapidly travel through her contact list until stopping in a familiar name.

You hesitate for a moment, but since the taximeter has been activated for almost 5 minutes and you really doubt to have enough money to pay for the taxi if you waste more time, you eventually press the number.

To your surprise, after just two tones a familiar voice that makes you shiver against your will can be heard.

“ _Dear, I thought I told you to warn me if you were going out at night, where are you now_?”

When hearing Doflamingo’s calm but obviously angry voice you are about to hang up in fear, but then you remember that you were using Baby 5’s phone and that consequently Doflamingo was angry at her and fortunately not at _you_.

“H-Hi, Doflamingo. It’s me, (y/n)”

For the silence that follows you can imagine Doflamingo’s surprised expression at the other side of the line.

“ _(y/n), even if it’s always a pleasure to hear your faltering voice can you tell me what are you doing with Baby 5’s phone?_ ”

You insult yourself internally when, besides surprise, you detect light impatience in Doflamingo’s tone. Crap, you should have explained everything the moment you have spoken!

“I-I am with Baby 5 right now. I’ve met her in a bar and she is…”, you look at Baby 5 sleeping in the seat next to you, snoring and with a string of saliva hanging from the corner of her lips, “…a little drunk right now. I was trying to take her home but she doesn’t remember where she lives so I’ve thought that maybe you knew her address”

There is a brief silence after which Doflamingo snickers to himself, surprising you.

“ _Yes, I think I remember it_ ”

Doflamingo gives you the address immediately so you don’t have time to ask what’s so funny. You tell the driver the indications that Doflamingo is giving you on the phone and finally the taxi begins to move.

“ _Are you already on your way?_ ”, Doflamingo asks.

“Yes”, you exhale a relieved sigh and finally leans your back against the back seat, “thank you”

“ _A pleasure. Do you plan to accompany Baby 5 home?_ ”

“Yes, I think she is already asleep so I’ll go with her just in case”

Doflamingo chuckles again.

“ _Alright. See you soon then, (y/n)_ ”

You are surprised when hearing Doflamingo because you weren’t going to see him until Thursday, but the man hangs up before you are even able to say goodbye. However, at that moment Baby 5 suddenly wakes up announcing that she is feeling sick and all your attention focus on hurrying the driver to stop the taxi and to open the door on Baby 5’s side just in time to prevent the girl from ruining the car upholstery.

It seemed that it was going to be a little turbulent trip.

* * *

Twenty minutes and three or four forced stops later you finally reach Baby 5’s home, which surprisingly was in the most luxurious district of the town.

“Are you sure this is the place?”, you ask hesitantly, looking at the expensive looking of the manors that surrounded the place.

“Yes, extremely sure, so now, _please_ , can you pay me and leave my car already?”

Since the poor taxi driver seemed about to suffer a nervous attack at any moment you immediately obey and reaches for your purse with more or less difficulty, since Baby 5 was lying on the backside of the car with her head on your lap, completely asleep.

You smile resignedly. Before when you had been forced to stop because of Baby 5 you were really regretting your decision of helping that problematic girl. However, when Baby 5 finally fell asleep she began to sleep-talking and say things in the lines that: ‘ _See mum?... I’m useful now…people needs me…will you love me then?_ ’, and when hearing that you couldn’t possibly hate the girl, no matter how disaster she was. As you had suspected, it seemed that she had had gone through quite a terrible past, so you were glad to have intervened with that man at the bar.

“How much is it?”, you ask, opening your purse.

“25,75$”

“WHAT?!”, your astonished shout makes Baby 5 whine painfully, so you speak lower, “b-but we weren’t that far away! How can it be that muc-?”

You stop midsentence, answering to yourself. Shit, you haven’t counted all the stops, and you had been so focused on Baby 5 that you hadn’t had time to see the taximeter at any moment.

“Oh damn”, you rummage in your too small purse under the watchful eye of the driver, “okay, I just have 12,43$, and also a coupon for two free drinks in the ‘Sharp Fang’, and considering how expensive drinks are in bars could this be enough?”

The poker face that the driver offers you is enough answer. You exhale an exasperated sigh.

“Look, I’m so sorry, really, but I don’t have more money!”

“That’s not my problem, miss. If you can’t pay I’m sorry but I will have to denounce you”

“Okay, okay, let’s calm down a moment”, you say hurriedly, when seeing that the man was already dialing a number in the car’s phone, “look, what if we search for a cash dispenser? That way I can get some more money and…”

At that moment a couple of soft taps sound against your car window. You stop focusing on the more and more annoyed driver to look towards the noise, and when seeing who is outside the car you exhale a surprised shout that causes Baby 5 to whine again.

“What the…”, you open your eyes wide in disbelief while lowering down the car window, “…what are you doing here?”

Doflamingo (yes, it was Doflamingo the one who was outside!) begins to laugh while leaning an arm over the taxi. Now instead of a suit he is wearing casual clothes: a pair of flashy orange Bermuda pants and a white shirt with red motives with the first buttons loose, which causes his worked tan pectorals to be partially visibly, a tiny detail that makes even more difficult for you to focus on the man’s now smirking face.

Crap, had he noticed that you have been staring for more time than necessary at his…umh…totally- _not_ -impressive-physique for more time than necessary…? Probably yes.

“Well, since this is my manor I think my presence here is quite justified”

His ironic answer makes your (e/c) eyes open even more.

“Wait, so instead of Baby 5’s address you have given me _yours_?”

“Fufufu~ Easy, (y/n), don’t frown like that: yes, this is my address but it’s also Baby 5’s because the family and I live all together”

You stop frowning, your previous irritation turning into surprise. However before you can ask more questions the driver suddenly clears his throat. Crap, you have forgotten that the man was there!

“Umh…about the money…”

Doflamingo seems to remember at that moment the driver’s presence as well and turns his attention to him, making the man gulp. Well, it was a relief to see that you weren’t the only one feeling intimidated in Doflamingo’s presence.

“I’ll pay”, Doflamingo extracts from his pocket a 50$ bill and offers it to the taxi driver, “keep the change”

“Are you sure?”, you ask Doflamingo while the driver lowers a little his own window to take the bill, “I have money to pay half of it so it’s enough if you pay the other half”

“It’s not necessary”, while the driver keeps staring at the bill as if he wasn’t believing his luck Doflamingo circles the taxi and opens the door that is on Baby 5’s side, “the travel has been because of Baby 5 so you don’t have to pay anything”

Doflamingo manages to enter half of his body inside the taxi to take Baby 5 out, grabbing her princess style. After grabbing Baby 5’s jacket, handbag and heels (she had taken them out to sleep more comfortably in the taxi) you exit the taxi with the intention of giving Doflamingo the girl’s belongings before finally coming back home.

However, the moment you step out the car you make the mistake of closing the door, and the driver takes opportunity of that to start the car and disappear down the street at almost high speed.

“Hey!!”, you shout uselessly towards the place where the taxi has disappeared and exhale a frustrated sigh, “damn”

“Well, it seems that he didn’t want me to reconsider giving him such a good tip”, Doflamingo chuckles while beginning to walk towards the entrance of the manor, “get inside. I’ll tell Lao G to take you home”

“O-Oh, it’s not necessary”, you say immediately without moving, “I’ll just call another taxi”

“Oh?”, Doflamingo looks at you with amusement, “with what phone?”

You blink twice. Shit, you had forgotten that your phone was dead. And wait a minute, how did Doflamingo know that?

The man seems to read your unasked question at that moment because he talks again with a rather triumphant tone.

“Since you’ve called with Baby 5’s phone I’ve deduced that yours is unavailable at this moment, so I am afraid that the only option is to do as I say. I’ll tell Lao G to accompany you but he will probably have to get ready first, so until that time I insist that you enter home”, Doflamingo smirks, “don’t worry: I’m satisfied enough with having you in the company so I won’t force you to stay in my manor as well. At least for now”

Without letting you even time to assimilate his last words Doflamingo finally enters the manor. You consider for a moment the possibility of stubbornly reject his ‘invitation’ but at the end you decide to follow the man: first, because during all the time you’ve been there not even one taxi has passed the street; and second, the alternative of walking home so late at night was really unappealing.

You have just entered the manor when suddenly you hear a loud ‘ _WATCH OUT_!’ and suddenly several violet projectiles that you aren’t able to identify comes flying towards your face. You don’t know how but you manage to jump to the side just in time to avoid them, causing them to impact on the wall.

“What the…?”, you say confused. You see the projectiles stuck on the wall and a violet liquid coming from them. You realize at that moment that they are _grapes_. 

“Sugar, Dellinger: what have I said about fighting in the entrance?”

When hearing Doflamingo you stop looking at the now stained wall. You don’t have time to notice the details of the impressive entrance because of the two people that are in the room: a slim blonde teenager who was wearing shorts and heels with a style that you honestly envy for a moment, and a little girl with a red hooded cape that was carrying a basket full of grapes who, you deduced, was the culprit of the previous projectile launch.

“It’s been Sugar’s fault!”, the boy you deduce is Dellinger says, “she has taken my heels without permission and has stained them while playing with her dolls”

“You have a lot of heels!”, the girl you deduce is Sugar protests back, “I’ve just borrowed you three or four, it’s not much!”

You look in awe at the two kids fight between them while _completely_ _ignoring Doflamingo._ You look at the man cautiously, expecting to see him angry or at least irritated, but to his surprise he only looked resigned.

At that moment Baby 5 whines in her sleep and half-open her eyes a little. She is just able to say a sleepy questioning ‘ _Doffy_?’ before falling asleep again.

“Hey, what’s wrong with her?”, Dellinger approaches the sleeping girl with curiosity, “is she dying?”

“Not yet, but tomorrow she will probably be”, Doflamingo answers simply, “can you please tell Jora to prepare her room?”

“Okay”, suddenly Sugar cups her hands around her mouth and takes air, “JOOOO…!”

“You idiot!”, Dellinger hits Sugar in the head, cutting her shout at once, “if Doffy wanted you to shout he had done it himself!”

“You’ve hit me! That’s domestic violence!”

Out of the corner of your eye you see Doflamingo sigh and you find yourself having to suppress a chuckle. To see the fearsome man be a little manhandled by those two kids was a little funny.

Luckily for Doflamingo, the ruckus makes Jora appear from the door that you presume was the living room.

“Oh, young Master, (y/n), you’re already here”, Jora approaches you all, “how is this stupid girl doing?”

“All the fine she can do considering how much she seems to have drunk”, Doflamingo replies while Jora places a jeweled hand over Baby 5’s forehead with a care that clearly contrasts with her previous insult, “Lao G is still awake?”

“Yes, she is showing Machvise and Gladius his last techniques in the living room”

“Alright then”, Doflamingo turns to Dellinger and Sugar, “kids, if you don’t want go to bed yet tell Lao G to prepare the car”

After saying a little reluctant ‘ _Hai_ ’ both kids leave the living room. At that moment Jora approaches you.

“Let me carry that”, she grabs Baby 5’s belongings, “do you want something to eat or to drink?”

You shake your head negatively, suddenly feeling a little awkward. Jeez, this situation was surrealistic. Why the hell weren’t you feeling uncomfortable in Doflamingo’s home? Because definitely you should, considering how much you hated the man.

Because, of course, you obviously hated Doflamingo. The fact that you thought that it was kind of funny to see him act in such a paternalistic way with his family didn’t change that. Not even one bit.

At that moment Doflamingo speaks and you are about to jump in your seat when being waken up from your thoughts.

“It won’t take us much to put Baby 5 into bed so put yourself comfortable here or in the living room”

When Jora and Doflamingo begin to climb up the stairs that lead to the rooms you decide to take a pick inside the noisy living room without actually entering. You see Trebol, Pica, Diamante and Senor Pink sitting in a table playing poker, Buffalo watching something in a TV whose size probably tripled the one you and Rebecca had in your apartment , Sugar and Dellinger chasing each other around the room while keeping with their previous loud discussion, and Machvise and Gladius doing some strange poses in the middle of the room that you deduce were the ones Lao G had been showed them until that moment. You don’t see the old man so it seems that he has gone already to get the car ready.

While observing at the strange members of the Donquixote family you lose track of the time a little and consequently don’t notice when Doflamingo climbs down rather noiselessly the stairs again.

“Too shy to join them?”

You exhale a ridiculous little cry when suddenly hearing that sentence just in your ear. You turn around frowning and see Doflamingo standing there, smirking at you teasingly as always.

“I’m not shy, but since it wasn’t going to take you much to come back I didn’t want to bother them”

Doflamingo exhales a patient sigh while indicating you to follow him towards a window in the entrance through which the street can be seen.

“(y/n), I already told you that you are part of the family now, so you are not a bother”

“Well, I have never said that I want to be part of the family”

You immediately regret your impulsive words. You fear that Doflamingo gets mad at you but the man simply chuckles while sitting casually on the edge of the window, one of his legs flexed so that he could lean his elbow on it.

“If that’s true, young lady, you are doing terribly, because helping Baby 5 the way you’ve done it tonight just makes me want you in the family even more”

You don’t know why but Doflamingo’s words make you blush intensely.

“I-I didn’t do anything in particular! I simply saw that she was a little too drunk and decided to accompany her home…”

“(y/n), I perfectly know how annoying Baby 5 becomes when being drunk, and the only reason that we stand her when she gets in that state is because she is part of the family and we all care about her. But you, young lady”, Doflamingo grins, “you didn’t need to go that far for her, but you still did. So I am afraid that, you want it or not, nor I nor the rest of the family are going to allow you _not_ to join us after this”

You exhale a resigned sigh.

“So now to be in the family is also part of the contract so that you don’t tell Corazon how I feel?”

Doflamingo hums to himself.

“It hadn’t occurred to me to _convince_ you that way but yes, now it is”

Certainly, this time you can’t blame Doflamingo for bursting out laughing after seeing your dumbfounded expression. Shit, you and your big mouth. Now you had to be in the family for having spoken too much. And again, you have the feeling that you should be way more annoyed than you were for it.

“Oh, Lao G is here already”

When Doflamingo says that you look outside the window and your eyes open wide when seeing a limousine stopped outside the manor.

“Umh…don’t you have a more discreet car?”

“Fufufu~”, between laughs Doflamingo abandons his seat on the window and opens the door of the manor, allowing you to exit first, “this is the more discreet car that I have”

‘ _Damn rich people_ ’ you think to yourself while staring at the car. You see that Lao G is already inside in the driver seat, wearing a chauffeur suit.

“Lao G will take you where you tell him. Although, of course, you are welcome to spend the night here if you want”

You shake your head.

“It’s okay. I prefer to sleep alone…I-I mean at home”

You blush intensely when Doflamingo arches an eyebrow in utter amusement. Oh godammit, why the hell your tongue had slipped like that?!

“(y/n), what’s wrong? I was just suggesting to sleep in the manor, not doing in _my bed_ ”

“I-I know that!”, you exclaim, feeling extremely nervous after Doflamingo said that last sentence, “fortunately you are devil, but not a pervert”

“Oh, so am I a pervert for offering you sharing a bed?”, Doflamingo’s innocent tone warns you that his next sentence isn’t going to be precisely innocent, “(y/n), in my room there is a king size bed so I can assure you that we could share it without even touching each other. Although seeing you so flushed makes me think that you were assigning the bed a more intimate purpose, and in that case…”, Doflamingo settles his index finger under your chin and makes you raise your head towards him, “the only pervert around here is _you_ , young lady”

The blush reaches your ears when Doflamingo’s grin increases, but nevertheless you rapidly answer back.

“No, I am not: you have said ‘doing it in my bed’ on purpose to make me think that, and for that reason…”, you point an accusatory finger at Doflamingo, “…the only pervert around here is _you_ , old man”

Shit, maybe calling him ‘old man’ had been too much of a risk. However, Doflamingo simply looks at your with surprise before beginning to laugh.

“So you dare to use my own words against me”, Doflamingo chuckles and separates from you, “I knew that you were going to fit well in the family”

You roll your eyes with patience before finally approaching the limousine. Lao G immediately gets out and opens the passenger door to you. You say him a surprised ‘ _Thank you_ ’ that he accepts with an inclination of his head and returns to the driver seat while you finally enter in the car.

Doflamingo raises his hand briefly as a goodbye and you do the same a little awkwardly before the car finally starts. You know that Doflamingo keeps observing your departure until the car abandons the residential area because somehow you still feel his gaze on you. Damn, if it affects you that much to be observed by him through his lenses, you couldn’t imagine how it would be to feel his real gaze on you.

* * *

In fifteen minutes you are at home. You suggest Lao G to pay something for the ride but when saying that the man begins to adopt a little ridiculous martial art posture while accentuating all the G’s of his sentences and you immediately decide not to keep insisting and simply thank him once again. Also, you say to transmit your thanks to Doflamingo, because even if you already had Doflamingo’s phone number you definitely didn’t want him to send him a message. Doing that would be crossing the line of I-work-just-for-you-because-I-am-being forced and you definitely didn’t want to do that.

When entering the apartment everything is silent. Rebecca has gone already to sleep so you are careful not to make any noise until reaching your room. You rapidly put your pajama on and you are about to enter the bed when you remember your dead mobile. You win over your laziness and decide to let it charging.

The mobile comes back to life at that moment. You have several unread messages. A couple of them were from Bartolomeo, thanking you again for the flyers sale and for having come to the concert; others were from Rebecca, saying that tomorrow she will need your help (again) with her computer because it didn’t work; and the last ones were from Corazon.

You gulp, feeling your heartbeat accelerate inside your chest. Somehow, you knew that trading them was going to hurt, but ignoring them now would be useless. You wouldn’t be able to sleep wondering what they were saying. Besides, who knew? Maybe Corazon was saying that he had spent a horrible dinner with Trafalgar and that he had suddenly discovered that he loved you…

No no no, you couldn’t desire that. If you wanted to be a good friend, you should desire Corazon the best with Trafalgar, not the opposite, so after exhaling a deep breath you open the message, knowing that you were prepared for everything you were going to read.

**_[(y/n), I would like to tell you this in person but honestly I can’t wait anymore :DDD]_ **

Your optimism disappears when you feel a tight knot in your stomach after reading just the first message. Shit, maybe you weren’t as prepared as you thought you’d be.

**_[The dinner has been a success! Well, I made some embarrassing mistakes during it that I will tell you in more detail but overall it was perfect!! :DDD]_ **

You gulp. Corazon had never used so many happy emoticons in the two years you knew him. He had to be in a really good mood.

**_[After dinner we went for a walk and talked for almost two hours. I think I never talked with someone that wasn’t my brother so much in all my life xDD]_ **

He hadn’t. At least, not with you.

**_[After that I accompanied him home]_ **

You feel your heart become crazy. Oh, crap.

**_[I planned to say him goodbye then and arrange another date as you suggested me to do]_ **

The disagreeable knot in your stomach appears as well in your chest.

**_[But at the end, it seems that it’s not going to be necessary ;)]_ **

The next message has a photo attached. By then, you are already feeling your throat extremely close and dry. The photo is still blurred because you haven’t downloaded it yet, but you can perfectly distinguish Corazon figure and Trafalgar one on the picture.

You gulp again. You perfectly know what how photo is going to be. The last sentence that Corazon has sent was just confirming what you already know. But still, you decide to press the download button.

You have thought that knowing beforehand what you were going to see would make it be less painful. But you were wrong. You were not prepared for the sharp pain that you experience when a selfie of Corazon and Trafalgar fills your mobile screen. They were looking at the camera, looking undeniably happy. Corazon was the one in doing the selfie while surrounding Trafalgar’s shoulders with the arm that wasn’t sustaining the mobile. Trafalgar had an arm around Corazon’s waist. He was also smiling while showing three of his fingers to the camera, in what seemed to be his characteristic pose, and his lips tinted in a light red together with the fact that Corazon’s makeup looked a little messed gave you an idea about what the two of them had been doing before sending you that picture.

**_[We are going out !!!! :DDD At the end he confessed to me first (how weird, right? ^^U), but all this has happened thanks to you. If you hadn’t helped me, we wouldn’t be together now. I love you really much, (y/n). You are the best friend someone could ever have and I have that luck :)]_ **

You don’t manage to read the entire message because after reading that purely innocent ‘ _I love you_ ’ your vision turns incredibly blurry. You realize that you are about to cry so you rudely dry your eyes, pushing back the tears. Shit, what was your problem?  You had decided that you would help Corazon to be with Trafalgar, and that’s what you’ve done.

As you have told Rebecca several times, you had decided to keep being his friend no matter what, and if you really wanted that, you should be feeling happy for him, even if that meant that he would never love you the way you loved him. That had been the plan from the start.

However, now that it was definitive that you were never going to be with Corazon, it was more difficult to assimilate than you had initially assumed. You have thought that it was going to take Corazon and Trafalgar more time to get together, that you were going to have more time to get used to the idea, but everything had gone incredibly fast, and ironically, you were the culprit of it.

You spend a couple of minutes breathing deeply, slowly calming down, and when you think you are fine enough you grab you mobile and do the only thing you can do in that situation. The only thing that a real good friend would do.

**_[CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I’m really happy that everything worked at the end!! ^^ You both look really cute in the photo. Even the serious doctor is smiling! :D you better tell me the details of your date on Monday!!! Now I’m dying of tiredness so I’ll go to sleep but congratulations again!!! :P]_ **

You press send, turn off the mobile and after exhaling a self-mocking laugh you finally enter the bed, biting your again trembling lip and knowing that despite the tiredness you were feeling it was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Corazon and Law are together. Poor reader -.-
> 
> But don’t worry: in the next chapter something will happen that maaaaybe will make you begin to see Doflamingo through a little different eyes :D


	8. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While working in Doflamingo’s company you receive an unexpected visit that causes you to almost have a breakdown. Doflamingo’s reaction causes a little change in the way you look at him.

You awake the next morning quite later than you would have liked because you haven’t heard the alarm clock, that has sounded more than two hours ago. You stand up from the bed and when you look at yourself in the mirror you know that no matter how many times you wash your face Rebecca is probably going to notice that something is wrong.

Nevertheless, you put yourself all the presentable you can and get out your room. You hear the TV sounding in the living room and when you climb down the stairs you see Rebecca in the sofa. Unfortunately, you don’t have time to put a more or less convincing I-am-completely-ok face because at that moment Rebecca turns towards your direction while talking.

 “It was time already, marmot! What happens? Last night you went out partying too muc-”, Rebecca’s big eyes open wide when looking at you, “hey, (y/n), are you okay?”

As it usually happens when someone asks you if you are okay when you are feeling like shit, you are about to begin to cry at that precise moment. However, you manage to push back the tears that are been about to appear again and exhale a self-mocking laugh before approaching the sofa, from where Rebecca is watching you with concern.

“Yeah, I’m great”, you say nonchalantly, extracting your mobile, “I’m just surprised with myself for what a good Casanova I am”

You select the image that Corazon sent you the other day and shows it to Rebecca. The girl opens her eyes even if more if possible when seeing it, and after exhaling a soft sigh she looks at you with sad eyes.

“I’m sorry, (y/n)”

Damn it, you are about to cry at that moment when hearing her apologize like that because you have expected a completely different reaction.

“Come on, Becca, this is the moment when you say: ‘ _You deserve it for being an idiot masochist that helps you crush to be with someone else_ ’, or something like that- _ouch_!”

You rub your arm in the place where Rebecca has just hit you.

 “Yes, I think that you are a masochist, and that you should have tried to date Corazon instead of helping him be with that stupid doctor, but that doesn’t mean that I’m happy for seeing you sad”

You chuckle when seeing Rebecca frown at you with a cute pouting expression on her face.

“I know that you aren’t that cruel”, you flop into the sofa and lean your head against the cushions while sighing, “but I deserve to be mocked at. It’s ridiculous that I’m feeling all depressed when I myself decided to help Corazon”

Rebecca smiles at you and patted your thigh with affection.

“Yes, you are an idiot, but even if I don’t like to admit it you did the correct thing and acted like a really good friend for Corazon”

You snort.

“Yeah, although now I regret a little having been such a good friend”

“Well, you can always forget Corazon and go after his brother instead”

“ _Becca_ …”

“Sorry, it has been a little inopportune joke, but I don’t like when you are sad!”

You can’t help to laugh when hearing Rebecca’s last comment.

“Look, if you like Doflamingo that much I can tell you where he lives. Maybe you want to pay him a visit”

As you were expecting, Rebecca’s mouth falls opened when hearing your casual answer.

“W-Wait a moment, how do you know where he lives?!”

Even if you know that you are going to eventually regret to have told Rebecca everything, at that moment the only thing you wanted was to stop talking about Corazon, even if that meant that you were going to talk about Doflamingo instead.

“So he lives in a manor?!”, Rebecca exclaims after you explained her your adventure to accompany Baby 5 to her home.

“Yep, and a rather nice one. I think his whole entrance is bigger than our whole apartment”

“Unbelievable”, Rebecca mutters to herself before looking at you curiously, “by the way, do you know if he is married?”

You don’t know why but Rebecca’s question makes you to feel a little uncomfortable. It honestly hadn’t cross your mind that Doflamingo was married, but now that Rebecca mentioned it, it could be more than probable. After all even if you didn’t like to admit it what Rebecca said the other day was true: the man was clever, rich and wasn’t half bad…

Okay, let’s be honest, Doflamingo was hot. He was a bastard, but he was a _very hot_ bastard. And all those attributes mixed with the fact that the man was already on his forties made rather plausible that he was married. Or that at least he had a girlfriend. And wait a moment, now that you remembered those two kids, Dellinger and Sugar, that were treating Doflamingo with such familiarity…what if Doflamingo was their _father_?! Although the kids didn’t look alike at all. Well, Dellinger was blonde, and Sugar maybe had inherited the hair from her mother. Or maybe they were from different mothers. And then that meant that Doflamingo was divorced? Or worse, maybe he was a widower?!

“(y/n)?”

You insult yourself when seeing that you have been lost in thoughts _about Doflamingo_ for several seconds. Why the hell have you been wasting your time wondering about Doflamingo’s private life?!

“N-No, I don’t know and I certainly don’t care”, you stand up from the sofa brusquely, hoping not having gotten red, “I’m going to prepare breakfast, do you want something?”

Since you are purposely avoiding looking at Rebecca, you fail to see the amused smile on your friend’s face.

* * *

The rest of the Sunday passes rather calmly. During the morning you help Rebecca fix her broken computer. Another virus had gotten in because the girl had forgotten to turn the antivirus on again. By when you manage to fix it, it was lunch time so you help Rebecca to prepare a quick though sane (the girl forced you to eat healthy…) meal. After that you take a rather long nap before spending the rest of the afternoon locked in your room with your computer. For once, you are grateful to have some homework to do because that way you keep your mind busy and avoid thinking about Corazon.

However, during dinner the subject inevitably comes up again when Rebecca asks you if you were going to the costume shop the next day. You immediately get pale just thinking about the idea of meeting Corazon so soon. Luckily, Rebecca comes to the rescue when suggesting to ask Corazon to change the next week schedule, so that you went on Monday to Doflamingo’s company instead of going to the shop. That way you would have an extra day to really assimilate that Corazon was with Trafalgar, since it was rather probable that the next day Corazon told you about his date (since you yourself had said that you wanted to hear the details, stupid you!) and you weren’t sure if you would be able to keep an acceptable poker face.

A little nervously, you contact Corazon. You push back the momentary pain that assaults your chest when realizing that he has a picture of Law and him as his personal profile and sends him a message asking for the change, using again the University as an excuse.

You spend the next hour biting your nails until Corazon answers your message saying that of course there isn’t any problem with the change.

“Thank goodness”, you exhale in relief, quickly answering back, “thanks a lot, Becca. You’ve saved my life”

“Wait”, Rebecca says when you are about to turn the mobile off, “shouldn’t you warn Doflamingo too?”

You gulp when Rebecca asks you that. Yes, she was right, the most correct thing would be to warn Doflamingo as well, but you honestly didn’t want to call him, nor to text him either, because somehow you knew that he was going to ask the reason for the sudden change, and you were sure that in that case he wasn’t going to buy your excuse.  

“I’ll text Corazon so that he tells him”, you eventually decide.

At first Corazon tells you that probably it’s better if you tell Doflamingo directly but you make up the excuse that probably it was too late to contact him and insist, so eventually the man agrees in telling his brother.

“Okay, done”, a yawn escapes your mouth at that moment, “I’m going to bed already”

“Yes, me too”, Rebecca surprises you with a hug, “cheer up. And if you feel suddenly all depressed feel free to knock at my door”

You chuckle and nod before going to your room. You spend five more minutes in the computer revising that you have finished everything for the next day before putting your pajama on and entering the bed.

You have just turned the lights off and have closed your eyes to try get some sleep when suddenly your mobile begins to sound. You incorporate startled in the bed and turns the lights on again. You have forgotten your mobile on your desk so in an attack of laziness you try to reach him without abandoning the bed, causing you to almost fall from it but hey, that was more worthy that having to touch the cold floor barefoot (because yeah, your sleepers were somehow at the other side of the room).

When you finally have your mobile in hand you hope that the call was some kind of propaganda so that you could tell the person who was calling you at such hours a couple of things to.

However, when seeing the name that was written on the screen your bad mood is immediately replaced by a little of apprehension.

Why was Doflamingo calling you at such hours?

For a tiny moment, you consider the possibility of ignoring the call. However, when picturing the reaction that the man would have the next day you immediately classifies that idea as a complete suicide and decide to answer, feeling your heart beating in your own ears.

“Yes?”, you say, your voice sounding tinier that you have expected.

 “ _Good evening, (y/n). Hope not having woken you up_ ”

Doflamingo is as polite as always, but something in his tone that you don’t manage to identify causes the hair on the back of your neck to stand at once.

“N-No, I was about to go to bed”, you clear your throat before continuing, “so what I can do for you?”

“ _Well, Corazon has just told me that you have told him to tell me that tomorrow you were going to work in the company, and I was just wondering, (y/n), is there a particular motive for which you haven’t told me directly when you already have my number?_ ”

You gulp. Okay, now you identify that ‘something’ in Doflamingo’s tone: it was definitely irritation, although you still couldn’t guess what you have done to put the man in that state.

 “ _Last night you did the same with Lao G when asking him to transmit me your thanks and I decided to let it pass, but I’m beginning to get a little tired of you using messengers to speak to me. So what’s the problem, (y/n)? And please, spare me the excuse that you are scared of me because you didn’t hesitate in shouting at me on the phone when I sent you that gorgeous uniform”_

You close your eyes. Shit, for that reason Corazon has recommended you to contact Doflamingo directly, and now that you think about it with calm the way you have acted, asking other people to carry your messages, had been clearly disrespectful. Even if it hadn’t been your intention, and even if surely Doflamingo _knew_ that it hadn’t been your intention, it was as if you were telling the man that he wasn’t worth of your time, and considering how prideful Doflamingo was, that had been certainly a big mistake.

Well, now you have just one option if you didn’t want to screw it up even more.

“Yes, there is a motive, at least for having used Corazon as a messenger tonight”, you take a deep breath before continuing. Crap, being forced to always say the truth with Doflamingo was horrible, “I just felt that you were going to ask me about the change. And since I don’t want to tell you the reason I would have been forced to lie. _And_ in that case you would have surely noticed my lie and probably that would have been way worse”

There is a little tense pause before Doflamingo speaks again.

_“Well, you could have simply said that you didn’t want to tell me”_

Even if it wasn’t your intention, you let escape a skeptic snort.

“Yes, as if you’d have been satisfied with that answer”

You snap a hand against your mouth. Oh crap, you have answered with sarcasm to Doflamingo when the man was just irritated at you, how idiot you were?!

However, again it seemed that you were worrying too much because Doflamingo simply chuckles as an answer.

“ _Touché_ ”, surprisingly, the irritation was gone from Doflamingo’s tone, “ _so what’s happened, (y/n)? Have you suddenly discovered that working for me is way better and you don’t want to work for Corazon anymore?_ ”

You gulp and try to answer as ambiguously as possible.

“I…I simply prefer not seeing Corazon tomorrow”, you eventually say, hoping that your answer was enough. ‘ _Please don’t ask why. Don’t ask wh-_ ”

“ _Why?_ ”

You bite your bottom lip with force, frustration invading you when realizing that you didn’t have any other option than telling Doflamingo the truth.

“Because...because he…”

You stop talking. Crap, why was your voice faltering so suddenly?! If Doflamingo notices it he’ll surely make the most of that opportunity to mock at you and…

…And then suddenly Doflamingo exhales a patient sigh at the other side of the line.

“ _Alright, (y/n). You don’t have to tell me_ ”

Your eyes open wide when hearing Doflamingo.

“Hah?”, you say very cleverly.

“ _I honestly planned to make you to speak, as a punishment for having been using messengers to contact me, but after seeing how much you are struggling to answer I have changed my mind. I don’t like to push the family too far from its limits_ ”

You exhale a long relieved sigh. You’d never have imagined that you were going to feel so happy for being part of the Donquixote family.

“Thank you”, you say sincerely, “and I’m sorry about the messengers stuff. It won’t happen again, I promise”

Doflamingo hums appreciatively.

“ _You should try to be that compliant more often, (y/n). It makes you be sexier_ ”

Despite Doflamingo is obviously mocking you, the comment catches you off guard and makes a nice blush appear on your cheeks.

“Well, sorry to disappoint you but I’m perfectly fine not being sexy at all, thank you”

Your outraged comment causes Doflamingo to burst out laughing.

“ _You never disappoint me with your reactions, (y/n). Have a nice rest_ ”

You answer with a simple ‘ _Good night_ ’ before hanging up. You settle your hand against your cheek, feeling it warm. Definitely you should get used to Doflamingo’s teasing once and for all, it wasn’t normal that it affected you that much.

After turning (again) the lights off you finally close your eyes, decided to push all the thoughts about both Donquixote brothers aside to try to get some sleep.

* * *

When you go to the company the next day Baby 5 has incorporated to the job again and is sitting in a desk with her head between her hands.  

“Hey, are you alright?”

Despite you have asked the question with a normal tone of voice Baby 5 raises her head to shush at you. There were light bags under her eyes and she was extremely pale.

“She hasn’t recovered from the Saturday yet”, Buffalo clarifies you before purposely raising his voice, “RIGHT, BABY 5?!”

Baby 5 whines pitifully and grabs the first thing that she was on the table (that resulted to be a stapler) and throws it towards Buffalo’s head. He avoids it with ease so you deduce that the man was used to Baby 5 throwing things at him.

“I feel so ill”, Baby 5 exhales a long sigh before looking at you, “(y/n), right? Doffy told me that you had taken me home. Thank you”

You smile and shake your head.

“Don’t mention it”, you make sure to speak in a low voice not to bother her and sit in front of your desk, “Buffalo and I finished the other day the checking of the clients database. Now we were going to begin classify the different clients’ deals, do you think you can give us a hand with that?”

“She can”, Buffalo answers for her with a devious smile, “otherwise I’ll tell Doffy that she is slacking off aga-”

Buffalo doesn’t end the sentence because again he has to dodge the pencil that this time Baby 5 has thrown at him with an obvious murderous intent. You smile to yourself. No matter where you work at the end you always have to deal with coworkers that wanted to kill each other. And speaking of that you had to remember to ask Bartolomeo how the night had been with Cavendish. After all they both had looked surprisingly comfortable with each other when you left them.

After convincing Baby 5 that she could wait to go home to kill Buffalo, you three finally divide the work. Despite her headache Baby works as efficiently as Buffalo, even more efficiently, so in just an hour you three have managed to categorize all the clients’ deals.

You are about to begin the next task when suddenly the phone in your desk begins to sound. You blink twice, surprised, before taking the call.

“Yes?”

It was Jora.

“(y/n), you have received a visit. Please, can you come to the reception desk?”

Before you can ask anything Jora hangs up, leaving you with a surprised expression on your face. You excuse yourself and get out of the room towards the elevator, frowning with confusion. Who could have come to visit you? Rebecca is the first person that comes to your mind but she was in class at this hour so it was little probable that it was her, but if it wasn’t her you honestly didn’t know who could be.

In a couple of minutes you are in the entrance again. You step out of the elevator and approach the reception desk as Jora has told you.

And then, you freeze in place when seeing Corazon and Trafalgar there, waiting for you with while carrying a giant cage of chocolates.

“What are you doing here?”

You realize that your shocked comment has sounded extremely rude but you couldn’t help it. You definitely haven’t expected to see Corazon that day, and much less Trafalgar.

“See, Cora? I’ve told you that it wasn’t a good idea to see her now. She is busy for sure”, Trafalgar offers you an apologetic look but you barely catches what he says next, since all your attention has gone to the familiar way he has called Corazon, “I’ve told him that it was better to wait until tomorrow but he hasn’t listened to me”

“Nope, I haven’t”, you feel your heart begin to hammer on your chest when Corazon approaches you with an affectionate smile on his gentle face, “I know that Law is right and that I’m probably interfering in your job right now but since Saturday I’ve been wanting to do this”

Even if when the man encloses his arms around you tightly you were expecting it more or less, you can feel a lump forming in your throat. The other times when Corazon has hugged you, you had felt extremely happy. But now, when knowing that that was the greatest gesture of affection that you’d ever receive from him, you couldn’t help to feel sad.

“I already told you on the message but I had to tell you in person”, Corazon continued, “thank you, (y/n). If it hadn’t for you, I would still be trying to summon up the courage to ask the doctor out”

“Oi, I have a name, you know? Or should I call you ‘shopkeeper’ from now on?”

Corazon chuckles when hearing Law’s ironic comment. You feel the lump on your throat getting tighter when seeing the playful teasing between those two. However, you manage to swallow discretely and after putting your best smile you separate from Corazon.

“You don’t have to thank me”, you say nonchalantly, looking at Trafalgar “besides, since _he_ was the one who eventually confessed I’m sure my help wasn’t that necessary”

“Yes, it was”, Trafalgar intervened, looking at Corazon with patience, “if you hadn’t forced this idiot to go dinner with me I don’t know when I would have had the opportunity to ask him out”

 _‘Oh, so at the end it was everything because of me. Great’_ , you think weakly.

“So this is for you”, at that moment Trafalgar practically snaps in your hands the giant cage of chocolates, “to thank you for all your help”

Trafalgar clears his throat and averts his eyes from you, a light blush adorning his cheeks, and if you weren’t using all your efforts in keeping a normal expression you would have considered the doctor’s reaction extremely cute.

“W-Wow, thanks”, you open the cage and force yourself to eat one of the chocolates despite you didn’t have the least appetite, “they are delicious! I’ll try not to eat them all today”

Corazon smiles happily and turns to look teasingly at Trafalgar.

“Told you that she was going to like this more than the flowers”

Trafalgar rolls his eyes with patience, which causes Corazon to laugh and to enclose his arms around the doctor’s shoulders to give him a conciliatory kiss on the temple.

And that’s the moment you decide to disappear from here because you can feel your eyes suspiciously itchy.

“Well, I think I should go back to job before your brother finds out that I’m slacking off”

“Oh, sure”, Corazon smiles at you apologetically, “sorry for having appeared suddenly like this”

“It’s okay”, you make such a rude dismissive gesture with your hand that the box of chocolates almost fall into the floor, “I always have time when chocolate is involved”

Corazon chuckles and surprises you by grasping your arm with affection, the mere contact causing your heart to miss a beat.

“See you tomorrow, (y/n)”

You nod and after dedicating them your less strained smile you wave your hand goodbye and turn around towards the elevator again. You ride the elevator up until the floor where you are working but instead of going towards your workplace you make a stop in the restroom. You enter in one of the stalls, rudely put the bolt and sit over the toiler tape with the chocolate box over your knees.

You take a deep breath, trying to forcibly remove the lump that has settled in your throat, but at that moment the image of Corazon tenderly kissing Law appears on your mind and before realizing it you are crying. Thank goodness that you weren’t a fan of wearing too much make-up because otherwise you would have to spend quite a time fixing the mess that your tears were causing.

At some point you hear the door of the restroom open so you hurriedly place a hand over your mouth to hide your sobs. The steps stop momentarily but when after some seconds you hear a stall door open you deduce that the other person hasn’t heard you. Nevertheless, you wait for the other person to finish her business and to leave the restroom before abandoning your stall.

You look at yourself in the mirror. Your eyes and nose are extremely red, and washing your face only puts them worse, so you decide to spend some minutes calming down, thing that was difficult because every time that your thoughts wander about Corazon and Trafalgar you feel like crying again. Shit, seeing them together had been harder than you had expected. You really hope to get used to it soon.

Five minutes later you finally leave the bathroom. You are afraid that Buffalo and Baby 5 asked you about your tardiness but when you enter the room both of them were working extremely concentrated, and don’t even avert their faces from their screen to look at you.

That allows you to calm down definitely and like that the rest of the afternoon passes by rather quickly.

“Well, it’s done”, Buffalo exclaims stretching his arms when the last deal has been categorized, “I hope this new form of keeping the information is worth it”

 You nod with confidence.

“Yes, it is”, you stand up from your chair, “It’s a little tedious to do but it facilitates a lot the posterior searches, believe me”

You are about to say goodbye to them to go home when suddenly Baby 5 speaks.

“Wait, (y/n). Doffy wants to see you”

You raise your eyebrows surprised.

“Now?”, Baby 5 nods, “why?”

Baby 5 shrugs.

“Beats me”

You suspect that the girl knows more than she is telling you because her expression has turned a little guilty. However since it was late already and you were desiring to go home to lie in the bed and forget about everything you decide not to press the girl and go to Doflamingo’s office, hoping that the man was brief.

You stop in front of the door and knock a couple of times.

“Come in”, you hear him say, and enter.

Doflamingo was behind his desk, looking absentmindedly a paper that he was sustaining in his hand and that he leaves in the table when you enter.

Doflamingo looks at you and you are surprised when seeing that, for once, the man isn’t smiling at all. Indeed, he was deathly serious, which causes you to gulp with anxiety.

“Take a seat, (y/n)”

When hearing the command you immediately obey. You sit down in front of Doflamingo’s desk, your hands crossed over your knees.

“I’ll be direct, and I hope that you are the same when answering”, Doflamingo crosses his hands over the table, “why where you crying in the restroom?”

Your heart momentarily stops.

 “What?”, you eventually say with a tiny voice, still assimilating what Doflamingo has asked you.

“Baby 5”, Doflamingo leans back against his chair and crosses his legs, leaning his hands over his lap, “she has told me that she has heard someone cry in the restroom. And considering that the only women that are working in this floor are her and you, that can only mean that it was you the one who was crying”

You gulp and avert your eyes, your hands clenching over your knees.

A silence falls in the room and you expect that Doflamingo keeps pressing you. However the man remains silent, simply looking at you, which just causes the growing tension in the room become more and more unbearable until you eventually can’t stand it and speak.

“Yes, it was me”, you admit in defeat, not daring to look at Doflamingo but guessing that he was expecting a proper explanation, “Corazon has come today with his new boyfriend to thank me for my help for putting them together. And…”, you exhale an empty laugh and gulp, trying with all your efforts that your voice doesn’t sound embarrassingly trembling, “…it seems that seeing them together is harder than I thought. At the end my plan of avoiding Corazon today hasn’t been as successful as I thought”

You try to end your sentence with irony but your voice fails you at the end, ruining the effect. You rudely remove a tear that had appeared on the corner of your eye and gulp again, still not looking at Doflamingo.

A new tense silence falls in the room. You were expecting that Doflamingo made some kind of mocking comment. Indeed, you were prepared for it. However, the man surprises you by grabbing the phone of his desk and dialing a number without giving any kind of explanation.

You finally look at Doflamingo and feel a little taken aback when seeing the angry expression on the man’s face. In fact, even a vein was lightly popping in his forehead.

“Jora? It’s me. Please, make sure to take note of this: the next time that my dear brother comes here accompanied by his boyfriend, make sure to bring that man to me”

You frown confused. Bringing Trafalgar to him? Why did Doflamingo want…?

“Oh, and make sure to buy more of that plastic for the ground. I don’t want that the blood stains the furniture”

Your eyes open impossibly wide when hearing Doflamingo’s scary words.

“W-Wait, plastic? B-Blood? What are you saying?”

Doflamingo leans briefly the phone against his shoulder to talk to you.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill him. I’ll just give him a little lesson so that he thinks it twice before coming here to bother you”

Your mouth opens wide, matching your eyes. Oh damn, oh damn, Doflamingo wasn’t joking, he was really talking about beating Trafalgar up!

“Wait”, you say hurriedly, extending a hand towards Doflamingo when seeing that the man was going to speak on the phone as well, “wait, don’t do that”

Doflamingo looks at you scarily serious.

“(y/n), I told you that I don’t forgive people that harm my family, and that man has made _you_ cry, so I’m going to make him pay for it”

Despite the absolutely crazy situation, you find yourself blushing when seeing Doflamingo disposed to go that far for you. And yes, you knew that probably the fact that the man was ready to beat someone just because he (indirectly) has made you cry was more than a little disturbing, but instead of feeling that way you were feeling unexpectedly…happy.

“Wait”, this time you lean over the desk and settle your hand over Doflamingo’s arm in an attempt of stopping him from talking to Jora, “really, you don’t need to do this. Besides, it’s not Trafalgar’s fault that I was crying…”

“If that Trafalgar wasn’t going out with Corazon you wouldn’t have cried, so yes, it’s his fault”

You are about to exhale an exasperated laugh when hearing Doflamingo’s sounded but somewhat childish logic. God, the man was surely stubborn.

“Yes, you’re probably right, but you can’t punish the man for going out with Corazon”, you try to reason, but Doflamingo was still grabbing the phone so you insist, “look, thanks for wanting to do it in my behalf but it’s not necessary. So please, promise me that you aren’t going to beat the man up. Besides, doing that would surely make Corazon hate you and I don’t want that”

Doflamingo lets out a long sigh but after some seconds he speaks again with a little reluctant tone.

“Jora, forget what I’ve said. Apparently (y/n) is a saint that can’t stand that someone receives his deserved punishment”

This time you can’t possibly prevent a laugh.

“Well, sorry if I feel that beating a man whose only fault is going out with your brother is a little extreme”

Your ironic comment causes Doflamingo to relax his posture a little, his characteristic smile coming back to his face.

“I am a little extreme with things related to the family, (y/n). You better not forget it”

You roll your eyes but your smile was still in your face.

“Don’t worry, I won’t”

You realize then that your hand is grabbing Doflamingo’s arm so you rapidly release him. The gesture doesn’t go unnoticed by Doflamingo, whose grin accentuates for a brief moment while finally hanging up.

“Well, since you don’t let me help you with this matter we have finished here. However, I would like you to answer me something”

For the first time since you knew Doflamingo, you nod without hesitation. Doflamingo leans his chin over his hand and look at your with curiosity.

“If you are in love with Corazon, why have you exactly helped him to be with that Trafalgar?”

You smile with resignation.

“My best friend asked me the same”, you think about what to say but you discover that it’s going to sound a little idiot no matter how you answer, “I just felt that it was the correct thing to do. Besides, if Corazon hasn’t liked me in two years I think it’s safe to assume he’ll never do, since he fell in love with Trafalgar after meeting him just once. Sooo after assuming that, I preferred to act with dignity and stay by Corazon’s side as a friend”

Doflamingo raises an eyebrow skeptically.

“Young lady, a ‘friend’ doesn’t cry when seeing another friend with another, so I think that there is a big leak on your reasoning”

You exhale an embarrassed laugh.

“Yeah, well, I’m still working on the ‘I-am-just-a-friend’ part”

Doflamingo exhales a chuckle.

“Well, in any case it seems that this incident has helped to lower your wary attitude when speaking with me, so I guess I’ll have to thank Trafalgar for that”

You realize at that moment that Doflamingo is completely right. During the whole conversation you haven’t felt threatened or uncomfortable even once. You have even tell Doflamingo about your feelings for Corazon without even hesitating. Oh god, that was bad, you should hate the man, not become more friendly with him, but why the hell weren’t you more worried about that change?!

“By the way, what is Trafalgar whole name?”

You come back to reality when hearing Doflamingo’s too casual question. You are about to answer but at the last moment you stop.

“Oh, no, no no. I’m not telling you. If you know his whole name you may discover where he lives and can go there to kill him”

Doflamingo bursts out laughing when hearing your prompt answer.

“I had to try it”, Doflamingo said with a fake defeated tone, “but don’t worry, (y/n), if you don’t want me to punish him I won’t. I’m a man of word”

You nod, satisfied, and stand up.

“Well, I should get going or my roommate is going to worry”

“Yes, I have entertained you enough”, Doflamingo stands up as well. You are never going to stop feeling impressed for his height, “do you want me to ask Lao G to take you home?”

“No, thank you, I’m really close”, Doflamingo accompanies you to the door and opens it. You are about to get out but at the last second you turn towards the man, “umh… can I make you a question?”

Doflamingo nods with a smirk.

“Since you have answered mine yes, of course”

You gulp before finally speaking.

“I’ve been wondering for a while…how did you discover that I was in love with Corazon? I mean, among my friends just my roommate knows about it”

Doflamingo chuckles before leaning towards you until his mouth is next to your ear to whisper the answer. The feathery contact of his lips moving against your skin makes you to shiver.

“It was easy, young lady. There is a tick **(1)** that you seem to have when there is someone that you like around”

And then, your eyes snap opened when Doflamingo mentions _that tick_ that you thought nobody knew about. You look at Doflamingo with stupor.

“How did you realize it?”

Doflamingo chuckles with amusement before incorporating.

“I always pay special attention when something interests me. Although in this case”, Doflamingo leans his arm against the wall, casually leaning a little over you, “I should say ‘someone’”

You gulp, feeling your cheeks redden in an instant and your heart begin to beat crazily. It was not the first time that Doflamingo acted seductively to tease you, but it was the first time that you just didn’t feel bothered by it but just the damn contrary.

“O-Oh, okay”, you clear your throat, “I-I’ll make sure to control that tick when Corazon is around”

Doflamingo hums approvingly.

“Yes, you should. Although maybe I’m mistaken about that tick of yours”

You know that you shouldn’t answer but you still do.

“Why?”

Doflamingo’s grin widens.

“Because you have done that same tick a couple of times while talking with me this afternoon, young lady”

You open and close your mouth a couple of times, not knowing what to say, and for once Doflamingo seems to have mercy on you because he simply say.

“Good afternoon, (y/n). See you on Wednesday”

After hurriedly saying Doflamingo goodbye you abandon the office and runs towards the elevator, where you lean your back against it, your breathing labored and you heart crazy.

Shit. The Donquixote Brothers were going to be the death of you one day

\-----

 **(1)** I haven’t described a particular tick because I think that every person have different nervous ticks when someone that he likes is around. In my case, for example, I begin to play with the rings in my hands like crazy :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, if seems that you don't hate Doffy that much anymore :DD
> 
> Next chapter: Corazon ask you help to prepare the birthday of certain person :)


	9. Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After accepting helping Corazon to prepare Doflamingo’s birthday you go to work to the company. While you are there, a little crisis explodes.

The next day you go to work feeling extremely nervous, not knowing very well how you were going to react when seeing Corazon again.

However, when you enter the shop and the man greets you with a smile as always you realize relieved that you aren’t more nervous than usual. Well, it seemed that as long as you didn’t see Corazon _and_ Trafalgar together everything would be just fine.

“Good morning, (y/n)”, Corazon’s tone turns apologetic, “sorry about yesterday. Doffy told me that you were really busy when we visited you”

Your eyes open wide with surprise.

“What? That’s not true!”

Corazon chuckles softly.

“He said that you would say exactly that but that because of us you had a lot of problems to concentrate again”

You suppress the urge to sigh with resignation. That man, pocking his nose without being asked. Thank goodness that you have at least convinced him not to kill Trafalgar.

“Your brother exaggerates a lot. You didn’t bother me at all”, Corazon relaxes when you say that and at that moment a thought crosses your mind, “wait, don’t tell me that Doflamingo and you fought because of this”

Corazon shakes his head reassuringly.

“Nah, Doffy simply was a little annoyed with me because”, Corazon begins to imitate Doflamingo’s voice quite accurately, “‘ _You have (y/n) more than me during the entire week so I’d appreciate that you don’t steal her time at my company_ ’. Apparently, Doffy doesn’t like very much that you work more in the shop than in his company. My brother can be a little possessive when he finds something (or someone) of his liking”

You find yourself fighting not to blush. And damn, it was you or Corazon looked incredibly amused just now?! Oh please, that would be the last thing you needed to turn your relation with Corazon even more awkward: that your unrequited crush tried to pair you up with his brother.

“And well, now that we are talking about Doffy there is something that I wanted to ask you”, Corazon continues, “it turns out that his birthday is in a month and it has occurred to me to prepare him a costume party. The idea is that the whole family assists as well, so do you think you could tell the rest without Doffy knowing it?”

You think for a moment about the members of Donquixote family and eventually nod.

“Yeah, sure. I see Jora, Baby 5 and Buffalo every day so I can tell them and ask them to warn the rest”

Corazon nods with a smile.

“Perfect then. Oh, and you better begin to think about the costume that you are going to wear”,

Your mouth falls opened.

“Wait, am I going to the party too?”

Corazon looks at you surprised.

“Don’t you want to go?”

You gulp nervously.

“No. I mean, yes. I mean, I don’t know, it wouldn’t be a little weird if I go? After all I am…”

“…part of the family, so it’s perfectly normal that you are invited as well”, Corazon smiles widely when seeing you face of stupor, “Doffy has told me that you have become a Donquixote member. But don’t worry, not just the family is going to assist to the party. Since I’ll surely need Cavendish and Bartolomeo’s help to have all the costumes ready in time I planned to invite them too”

You suppress a relieved sigh. Even if the truth was that you got along pretty well with the Donquixote family you were glad that those two were invited as well.

“Great. And is there a particular thematic for the costumes or we can go dressed however we want?”

“Well, Doffy and I used to play pirates a lot when we were kids, so I’ve thought that I could prepare a pirate costume party”, Corazon suddenly sighs and leans his chin over his hand, “although it’s a pity that because of it I can’t see Law wearing the vampire suit I gave him”

After the initial moment of stupor you manage to nod with understanding. You should have guessed that obviously Trafalgar would go the party in the quality of Corazon’s brother.

 “Well, if you remove the red bat cape from the doctor’s suit it could perfectly work as a refined pirate costume”

Your comment causes Corazon’s eyes illuminate.

“Hey, you’re right! And if I add a pirate hat and a sword the suit will be perfect”, Corazon smiles at your brightly, “thanks, (y/n). I’ll make sure that your costume is the best of all”

You chuckle, unable not to blush. You are about to tell Corazon that it’s not necessary for him to spend much time with your costume when the door of the shop opens and Cavendish and Bartolomeo appear talking to each other, and your eyes open wide when seeing that Bartolomeo is hooking an arm around Cavendish’s shoulders and this one looks perfectly comfortable with it.

“Oh, come on, Cavendish, are you still sulking? For thousand time I wasn’t laughing at you…”

“Bartolomeo, you were literally bursting out laughing while looking at me. Of course you were laughing at _me_!”

“Okay, maaaaaybe I was but it was because it was funny to see you about to shit your pants just for a movie!”

“Well, genius, sorry if terror movies which are specifically designed to scary _normal_ people do scare me!”

You bite your bottom lip not to begin to laugh. As you had expected, something had changed between those two because even if they were still fighting there was a hidden camaraderie between them that definitely hadn’t been there before.

“Umh…(y/n)…”, Corazon blinks a couple of times before looking at you, “what’s exactly happened this Saturday between those two?”

This time, you can’t prevent a laugh. Those two were really obvious if the oblivious Corazon had realized that something was happening.

* * *

“Mmm, so a party for the young Master”, Jora’s smile manages to grow even more, “alright, leave it to me. I will warn the family as soon as I can”

You nod. The moment you have arrived at the company the next day you have gone directly to Jora to ask her help. After all, even if you could contact Buffalo, Baby 5 and probably Senor Pink rather easily (since the man worked in the office next to yours), it was almost impossible to warn the top Executives and Doflamingo’s bodyguards without him from noticing, nor either Lao G and the two kids that you have seen in the manor.

“Thank you”, you say, “also, when you know what costumes you want, contact me or Corazon so that he can arrange an appointment with you”

Jora nods and laughs loudly, surprising you.

“Ahahahaha! It’s nice to see you so integrated with us already, dear”, the woman sounded honestly happy, “at first I thought that you hated the young Master but now I see that you get along really well”

You blush intensely.

“W-We don’t get that along! I-I am just doing what Corazon has asked me to”

Jora raises a profiled skeptic eyebrow when hearing your half-hearted protest.

“You should sound more convinced, dear. And you don’t have to feel bad for liking the young Master. Because of his charisma it’s perfectly logical to feel attracted to him…”

“ _I don’t like him_!”

“Well, for ‘ _not hating him_ ’ then, if you prefer it that way”

You exhale an exasperated defeated sigh while abandoning the reception desk, where Jora has begun to laugh again with amusement.

You are about to ride the elevator up, still sulking for having been mocked, when suddenly a really beautiful dark-haired woman with a violet suit steps inside just when the doors are closing.

“Just in time”, the woman exhales a little breathless. It seemed that she had run to reach the elevator.

“Which floor?”, you ask.

The woman looks at you and you can’t help to admire the orange color of her eyes, which were definitely more impressive that your (e/c) ones.

“To the top floor, thank you”, she says with a smile when you press the button, “I haven’t seen you around before. Have you begun to work here recently?”

You nod while the elevator doors close.

“Yes, this is just my third day here”

The woman hums to herself and suddenly her eyes illuminate.

“Oh, so you must be (y/n), the new member!”, the woman offers you a hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. The family, and specially Doffy, has talked me very well about you”

You nod a little awkwardly and shake the hand the woman is offering you.

“Nice to meet you too. Are you part of the Donquixote family as well?”

The woman smiles mysteriously.

“Officially not but unofficially yes. It’s a little complicated”

You look at the woman with curiosity but just at that moment the elevator reaches its destination, and your heart skips a beat when finding Doflamingo just in front of the recently opened doors.

The man looks at you briefly but almost immediately his attention diverts to the other woman and a surprised smile appears on his face.

“Well, well, look who has decided to pay us a visit”

Your eyes open wide in astonishment when the woman exhales a satisfied laugh before approaching Doflamingo to hug him. The man immediately returns the hug and you stare at the scene with a dumbfounded expression.

‘ _By the way, do you know if he is married?_ ’

At that moment Rebecca’s words resound in your head. Wait, could it be that that woman was Doflamingo’s wife? Or his girlfriend? Because in that case what she had said about ‘ _unofficially being part of the family_ ’ could make sense. And wait a damn minute, why that possibility was just making you feel incredibly annoyed? And why in earth that uncomfortable feeling that has just appeared in the pit of your stomach was so damn similar to the way you felt when seeing Corazon and Law together?!

You are about to leave the lovey-dovey pair alone in a hurry but just when you are passing by…

“(y/n), wait”

You manage to suppress a sigh. Obviously, Doflamingo had to call you just when you were feeling stupidly conflicted.

“Yes?”

Shit, your answer has sounded incredibly irritated and rude. However, when hearing it Doflamingo just smirked briefly with amusement before _finally_ stopping hugging the woman.

“I think that you two hadn’t met before”, Doflamingo encloses at that moment his arm around the woman’s shoulders casually, the action making you to tense involuntarily. Damn, what the hell was wrong with your body reactions today? They didn’t make any sense!, “this is Viola. She used to work here in the company with us but now she is a member of the Police Department”

Your eyes open wide and that reaction causes Viola to chuckle.

“For that reason I’m an _unofficial_ member of the family”, the woman explains with a smile, “and of course my position in the police is very helpful to warn about sudden inspections”

You hum with understanding. However, the woman’s explanation didn’t clarify if she was romantically involved with Doflamingo or not.

You insult yourself internally. Damn, and what if she was?! That wasn’t important at all!

“(y/n), are you alright? You seem a little tense”

You gulp when hearing Doflamingo’s suspicious concerned tone. ‘ _Don’t blush, (y/n). DON’T YOU DARE TO BLUSH!_ ’

“I-I’m okay. Just a little stressed because of the University”, you knew what Doflamingo thought about lying but like hell if you were going to say the truth. You didn’t even know what was wrong with you in the first place, “I should get going. Baby 5, Buffalo and I have to…umh… finish some unresolved technical matters. It’s been a pleasure to meet you”

You direct your last sentence to Viola, who is looking at your with surprise, and after purposely avoiding looking at Doflamingo (whose enervating grin you could feel without needing to see it) you walk down the corridor towards your office and stomp on it, causing Baby 5 and Buffalo to jump in their seats.

You quickly mutter a hurried apology and sit on your desk, determined to begin to work to avoid any stupid thought that you could have regarding Doflamingo.

“Umh…(y/n)…”, you look at Baby 5 when she calls you with an hesitant tone, “…are you angry?”

Your eyes open wide.

“Angry? Why?”

“Well…umh…”

When Baby 5 averts her eyes guiltily while biting her bottom lip and doesn’t continue, it’s Buffalo the one who keeps talking.

“She told Doffy about you crying in the restroom and she is sorry. She did it because she was worried about you but still she shouldn’t have”

You see Baby 5’s expression turns even guiltier, and even if you know that the logical thing would be to feel angry towards the girl you find yourself not caring that much.

“Oh, that”, you shake your head with a smile, “I’m not angry”

Baby 5 looks at your with watery eyes.

“Really?! So will you still count on me to help you with the job?”

You are about to laugh when seeing the girl’s puppy expression.

“Yes, I’ll do. But please, next time don’t say Doflamingo anything behind my ba-”

You lost the air of your lungs when suddenly the girl hugs you tightly while crying with relief.

“Thank goodness!! I thought that you didn’t need me anymore!!”

Buffalo bursts out laughing loudly while you still fight to breathe. It takes you a couple of minutes to convince the girl that you are not angry and that you still need her so that she releases you.

When Baby 5 has finally calmed down you tell her and Buffalo about Doflamingo’s party, and make them promise that they won’t say a thing. You are a little tempted to ask them about Viola and Doflamingo relation but you eventually decide to convince yourself that you don’t need to know it.

You three spend the rest of the afternoon working in silence, and thanks that the job requires an acceptable level of concentration you manage not to think too much about unnecessary matters during the three hours that you are working there.

“Well, time to go home”, you stand up from your desk, “see you on Friday”

“Hey, (y/n)”, Baby 5 suddenly begins to whisper, “one doubt. Besides the costume party, have Corazon and you thought about a present for Doffy?”

You feel annoyed with yourself when the image of Viola hugging Doflamingo is the first thing that invades your mind when Baby 5 mentions the man.

“I don’t know, you should ask Corazon about that”

Baby 5 looks at you surprised for your sudden rude tone. You are about to add a more kind comment but you are unable to do so because at that moment the door of the office opens and Senor Pink enters in the office.

“Good, you are still here. The boss has convoked an emergency meeting right now. We have to go to his office”

The fact that Senor Pink doesn’t try to flirt with you as he usually does makes you deduce that something serious has happened. Baby 5 and Buffalo seem to think the same as you because they interchange a concerned glance.

You look at the three of them alternatively.

“Umh…should I go too?”

Senor Pink looks at you and nods without hesitation.

“Yes, at least to know what’s happened”

After talking Senor Pink leaves the office and Baby 5, Buffalo and you follow him. You walk in silence towards Doflamingo office and enter behind Senor Pink when the man steps in the room without even knocking. All the Family with the exception of Dellinger and Sugar was already there, standing around Doflamingo who was sitting behind his desk with his legs crossed and leaning his temple in one of his hands, not a hint of a smile on his usual smirking face.

You notice that Viola is next to him with her arms crossed in front of her chest and an expression of frustration in her face. You observe the rest of the Donquixote members with more attention. Apparently, no one else besides Viola seemed to know what was happening because everyone looked extremely confused.

“So what’s going on?”

Pica’s strident voice resounds in the room, shouting aloud what everyone was thinking.

Viola gulps and opens her mouth to speak but Doflamingo raises briefly his free hand, indicating her to remain quiet.

“I will be direct”, Doflamingo’s voice was calm but it was obvious that he was deeply annoyed, “we have just learnt that this week Smoker is going to send one of his men to inspect the company”

A tense silence falls in the room. You have to make memory but eventually you remember that Smoker was the police inspector that was going after Doflamingo’s company.

“And do we know what’s the exact day when he is going to pay us a visit?”, Diamante inquires.

This time it’s Viola the one who answers with a thin voice.

“It’s really probably that he comes tomorrow”

This time, instead of a silence what explodes in the room is a loud ruckus when all the family begins to talk at the same time.

“Tomorrow? That can’t be possible!”, Jora exclaims, covering her cheeks with both of her hands.

“What are we going to do, neeee?!”, Trebol begins to walk nervously through the room, his frenetic steps making his snot bounce even more than usual, “we haven’t had time to leave everything ready yet, neeee!”

“Well, we could try to hide the most compromising information”, Diamante suggests, although he didn’t look very convinced of his own proposal.

“That is the same than saying that we have to hide _everything_ , Diamante”, Pica exclaims in an even more high-pitched voice than before, “all the information about our deals is highly compromising!”

“Damn Smoker”, Baby 5 intervenes with a huff, “couldn’t he wait until we were completely established before sending someone?”

While the Donquixote family’s voices become louder you remain quiet, simply observing them. From what you have heard you can deduce that since the new office has just opened they hadn’t had time to hide their ‘not entirely legal’ deals with their clients.

“Well, we can always have a little talk with the man that Smoker sends”, Machvise suggests while massaging his knuckles alternatively, indicating that his way of communication was going to be painfully physical.

“Or also to place a little present in his car”

Your eyes open wide when Gladius extracts from his pocket something that looked scarily similar to a grenade. But that couldn’t be, right? It wasn’t possible that that man was carrying a bomb in his pocket as if it was the most normal thing to do…

Okay, it could perfectly be possible. It was the family about whom you were talking about.

At that moment Doflamingo intervenes, and even if he hasn’t even raised his tone of voice everyone immediately pays attention to him.

“No, even if I find tempting the idea of giving a little warning to Smoker’s messenger I think that we should keep a low profile for now, so we must leave everything ready today, even if that means that we are going to spend the night locked in the company”

Everyone exhales long sighs of resignation.

“I’ll tell Lao G then that he will be in charge of preparing dinner for Sugar and Dellinger”, Jora announces while taking out her phone.

“Pica, Trebol, let’s go”, Diamante says with a dark tone, “We are going to spend some nice hours falsifying documents”

“Alright, then Baby 5 and I will contact Monet and Vergo to ask them help to hide the data base information”, Buffalo comments while Baby 5 kept muttering not very feminine curses.

“Then I’ll make sure to contact our most influent associates to revise what they should say about us in case they are contacted as well”, Senor Pink adds.

“Yes, please, do so”, Doflamingo stands up from his seat, “although I will also go to see them, just to make sure that they understand the importance of keeping their mouth shut. Machvise, Gladius, you come with me”

“I’m sorry”, Viola apologizes suddenly, her face a mask of frustration, “I couldn’t have chosen a worst day to come to visit. If I had been in the office I would have been able to discover what they planned to do and-”

Doflamingo interrupts the woman by settling a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault, Viola. You couldn’t guess what they planned to do. However, can you do me a favor and come back to the police department? Maybe you can still convince them to postpone the inspection at least one day”

Viola smiles and nods with renewed determination.

“Alright, I’ll do my best to give you one extra day”

Doflamingo smiles approvingly at her. Another inexplicable pang of irritation hits you when seeing that but you decide to push your annoyance away since at that moment there was something more important that you wanted to ask.

“And what do I do?”

You gulp with nervousness when your question causes everyone (Doflamingo included) to look at you with surprise, as if they hadn’t noticed your presence there until now.

“You don’t need to do anything, (y/n)”, your eyes open wide with surprise when hearing Doflamingo, “it’s better if you don’t get yourself involved with this, so go home and rest. Thanks for your hard work today”

When seeing everyone about to leave the room you hurriedly speak again.

“But I want to help”, again, more surprised glances fix on you, “I mean, I know that I’m new but I think that I can help Buffalo and Baby 5 with the data base. After all we’ve been working on it these last days and I already know how everything works so-”

“Young lady, I suppose that you are clever enough to deduce that what we are going to do tonight is not legal, so if the police discover that you have helped us, you’ll also catch his attention, and they will mark you as a new suspicious member of the Donquixote family”

Despite Doflamingo has spoken to you really seriously, you don’t hesitate to reply back, because the fact that Doflamingo was trying to stop you from helping when he was allowing all the rest (Viola included) to help bothered you.

“Well, you are always saying that I am part of the family, and therefore that means that I should help as well, right?”

Doflamingo looks at you for some seconds in silence before chuckling with surprise.

“(y/n), sometimes I can’t quite understand you. You were really reluctant to join the family, and even when accepting you insisted that it was something temporal, but now you are risking to have legal problems just to help the company of the man who is blackmailing you. Can you explain me why?”

You gulp. You try to think off a decent excuse because what Doflamingo has said had perfect sense. You didn’t have to help them. In fact, you _shouldn’t_ want to help them. As Doflamingo had said, you were only working for him because you were forced to do so.

However, even if initially you had begun to work for Doflamingo just to prevent him from speaking to Corazon about your feelings, you had to admit that you enjoyed working in the company. Baby 5 and Buffalo were really nice fellows, Jora was exasperating but kind on her particular way, and even if Senor Pink got on your nerves when he was in a seducing mode he was also really funny. And even if you didn’t know the rest of the family as much you felt that you didn’t mind to know them more.

And well, about Doflamingo, even if you were embarrassed to admit it you couldn’t possibly hate him anymore after seeing how far the man was willing to go for you the other day. And yeah, the man kept being scary as hell, and a manipulating bastard , and a ganster, but damn it, you couldn’t possibly find yourself caring about that anymore and that was bad!

“(y/n)?”

“I-I don’t know, okay?”, you answer in a panic while blushing because why the hell Doflamingo looked as if he exactly knew what had gone through your head?!, “m-maybe because of you I have Stockholm Syndrome or something, but the thing is that I want to help you all so you should make the most of it instead of protesting, don’t you think?!”

After an embarrassing silence all the members of the family begin to laugh, which causes you to turn even redder but you certainly couldn’t blame them for their reaction since your answer had been quite curious.

“So Stokholm Syndrome”, Doflamingo grins even more with amusement, “does that mean that you are in love with me, (y/n)?”

If you thought that you couldn’t get even redder, you were mistaken. Damn it, why the hell you had mentioned that syndrome? You gulp and are about to find a proper reply but at that moment Viola comes to your rescue by suddenly hitting Doflamingo in the back of his neck, the unexpected action causing your eyes almost leave their orbits.

“Doffy, behave”, the woman says reproachfully before looking at you with a reassuring smile, “don’t mind him. Despite his age he still uses teasing as his main weapon to flirt”

Your mouth falls opened while the family laughs even more than before after hearing Viola, and even if you can’t see Doflamingo’s eyes because of that stupid pair of lenses you can deduce that the man is glaring at Viola, who was just smiling at him charmingly.

 _Flirting_? You had always assumed that Doflamingo was just mocking you when acting ‘in a sexy mode’ (as Rebecca called it) with you but could it be that all that time the man had been seriously _flirting_ with you? That the man was interested in you in _that way_? Come on, that was impossible. The idea was weird as hell and didn’t make you feel flattered at all.

“Boss, the teasing technique doesn’t work with (y/n). I’ve tested it with her but she doesn’t seem to consider neither sexy nor hard-boiled at all”

You are about to burst out laughing together with the family when Senor Pink suddenly says that with a complete serious tone. Doflamingo rubs his temple while exhaling a resigned sigh before finally speaking with a lightly annoyed tone.

“Very well, enough chatting. We have a long night before us”, Doflamingo suddenly focuses on you again and you make sure to stop laughing at once, “if you really insist to help despite my warnings go with Baby 5 and Buffalo and speak with Monet. She was our main computer expert when working with us”

After saying that Doflamingo abandons the room followed by Machvise and Gladius.

“It seems that the young Master is a little upset”, Jora turns towards Viola, “and it’s your fault”

Viola shrugs.

“No, it’s his fault for not knowing the proper way of conquering a lady’s heart”, Viola suddenly winks at you, “but he has also several good points”

You are about to ask why the hell she is directing those words to _you_ but Viola immediately excuses herself and abandons the room, together with the rest of the Donquixote family until just Buffalo, Baby 5 and you remain in the room. Well, at least it was safe to assume that Viola and Doflamingo weren’t dating because their behavior just before that couldn’t have been more fraternal. And again, that knowledge didn’t make you happy in the least.

* * *

At the end, the talk via skype with Monet lasted almost an hour, since the woman explained to you with detail the method that they had been using until now to hide the information of the data base. You listened to the solution with attention and eventually concluded it was impossible to implement it in just one night, so you opted for a simplified alternatively that basically consisted in building a program that modified the result of the queries when consulting the data base. That way, when someone searched for the information of a determined client, the retrieved information would be fake and the real important and compromising information would be hidden.

Since Baby 5 and Buffalo didn’t know how to program, you assigned them the task of inventing relatively credible information about the clients while you created the program. Rebecca called you at some point of the night, almost hysterical, and you realized too late that you should have warned your friend that you probably were going to spend the night in the company.

After apologizing a thousand to the girl times for having worried her you focused on your job again. While you worked you could hear Trebol’s loud complaining ‘neeeees’ from the neighbor room and Pica’s voice, but your brain eventually registered those noises as background music to focus on your task at hand, who was way trickier than you had assumed it’d be because the data base was gigantic and had multiple fields that you had to treat carefully.

In fact, you were so focused that Baby 5 had to call your name almost half-a-dozen of times before you reacted.

“Sorry, what?”, you realize at that moment that Jora is in the door with her mobile in hand.

“It’s 10 p.m already, dear, so we are ordering dinner”, Jora repeats, “what would you like to eat?”

“Oh”, you blink several times, trying to remove the code lines out of your eyes. Shit, you should have taken a small break, “what are the options?”

Baby 5 begins to enumerate with her fingers.

“We have already ordered Chinese, Indian and Japanese food, pizzas, hamburgers, hotdogs, and sandwiches”

You stare at Baby 5 in disbelief.

“All that?”

Buffalo and Baby 5 nod at the same time.

“Yes, we all have very different tastes”, Buffalo explains, “so ask whatever you want”

You look at Jora and when seeing the woman nod with approbation you make your choice before focusing on your computer again.

“Wait, are you going to continue?”, Baby 5 asks with incredulity, “everyone is taking a break in the rest area”

“I’ll go in a moment”, you say, cursing in a low tone when the program code fails in a line that apparently was perfectly correct, “I just want this to work”

Baby 5 is about to protest but at that moment Jora makes her a gesture indicating her not to insist, so Baby 5 reluctantly leaves the room with Buffalo and Jora, leaving you alone.

You continue typing like crazy, frustrated when seeing that the program keeps failing. You are so concentrated that you don’t hear that the door has opened and that someone has entered until suddenly a pair of strong arms land on the table on either side of your body, caging you in the middle.

You let out a high-pithed curse, causing the intruder to chuckle with a familiar ‘ _Fufufu~_ ’.  You look up with a frown to find Doflamingo looking at you from above.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you”

You snort, deciding not to pay attention to the fact that Doflamingo hadn’t his jacket on anymore and that his black shirt adjusted way too perfectly to his well defined body in just the right spots.

“In that case you should have knocked like a normal person”, you reply gruffly, focusing on the screen again.

Doflamingo chuckles again and stops caging you. He sits down in Buffalo’s chair and observes you. Damn, concentrating was a little more difficult now.

“Something isn’t working?”, Doflamingo comments then when you almost sends flying the backspace key of the keyboard.

“No, it isn’t”, you say with another curse, “and it should, dammit”

Doflamingo observes you with amusement for several more seconds until talking again.

“You know, I’m not one to talk because I tend to be rather obsessive as well when I’m in the middle of something, but it’s true that taking a break is necessary”

“I know, I know”, you exclaim a relieved ‘yes’ when _finally_ that line of code stops failing, “but I’m about to finish here”

“That’s what you told Baby 5 fifteen minutes ago”, Doflamingo stands up from his chair and approaches you.

“I know, but this time I’m really about to fini- _wow_!”

Suddenly, you find yourself raised in the air and it takes you a moment to realize that Doflamingo has just lifted you princess style.

“W-What the…?”, you automatically encloses your arms around Doflamingo’s neck to have a hold onto something and blush when feeling Doflamingo’s pectorals against your right side, “h-hey, put me down!”

“Don’t worry, I will”, Doflamingo begins to walk towards the door, “but just when we are in the rest area”

“B-But I can walk myself, you know?”

“Yes, I know, but this way I’ll make sure that you arrive at your destination”

You exhale a patient sigh while Doflamingo carries you bridal style along the corridor as easily as if you were as light as a feather.

“Are you really going to carry me all the way?”

“Yes”

“The rest area is in the first floor”

“I know”

“So we are going to ride the elevator like this?”

“Yes”

 You exhale another exasperated sigh when Doflamingo carries you inside the elevator, but this time you are fighting not to laugh because of the ridiculous situation.

“Okay, and what if I promise you that I will go to the rest area? Would you put me down?”

Doflamingo hums to himself in an obvious exaggerated way before nodding.

“Alright, but you aren’t you comfortable like this?”, Doflamingo asks with a mocking questioning tone while beginning to put you down.

“Oh, yes, I’m in Heaven. I wish you’d carry me like this all day”, you regret your ironic answer when Doflamingo stops and is about to raise you again, “it’s a joke, it’s a joke, put me down, please”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your hurried petition and finally allows you to step on the floor safe and sound.

“Just out of curiosity, you do this with all your employers when they reject to take a rest?”

“Of course. That’s the best way to assure that they take the rest they need to perform well”

“Interesting. And isn’t it difficult to carry Trebol? Or Pica?”

“No, the most difficult to carry is Senor Pink. The last time he began to shout that it wasn’t hardboiled to be carried that way and the elevator almost collapses because of his struggles”

The ridiculous image that Doflamingo’s words make appear in your head causes you to begin to laugh, interrupting your previous irony game.

“I win”

You exhale a sigh after your laugher calm down and when looking at Doflamingo you see the man is grinning triumphantly, and you don’t know if it’s for the situation, for the day that has been weird and long, or for what, but it’s the first time that you find Doflamingo’s smirk incredibly attractive instead of enervating. Indeed, you realize with stupor that that smirk of his could easily rival the warm smiles of Corazon that, until now, had always been one of your weaknesses.

Damn it. What the hell was happening to you?

At that moment the doors of the elevators open and Senor Pink appears in front of you.

“Oh, you are here already. I was going to find you two since it was taking you a lot to com-”

The poor Senor Pink shows a confused expression when you burst out laughing again, while Doflamingo adopts an obviously fake confusing expression that doesn’t fool anyone.

* * *

After having a quick (though rather copious dinner) with the family, all of you came back to work. Doflamingo wasn’t exaggerating when saying before that you were going to spend the night locked in the company, since you didn’t finish the program until noon and you still had to add the information that Buffalo and Baby 5 had been creating during those hours.

Fortunately, since the work that remained was rather mechanic you took turns to introduce the fake information, so while one of you was working the other two were resting in the sofas that were in your office.

And that way, just when the company was about to open, you introduce the last data, finally putting an end to that tiring sleepless night.

“Done”, you exhale to yourself, since Baby 5 and Buffalo are snoring in the sofas completely exhausted.

You rub your face with both of your hands before leaning your forehead against your desk.  Finally it was over. Damn, while studying your degree there had been a couple of times that you had needed to stay awake at night to study, but you had never spent the whole night awake. Jeez, you didn’t know if you were going to be able to go that afternoon to Corazon’s shop. Right now the only thing you wanted was to sleep in a proper bed.

Without realizing, you fall asleep for almost fifteen minutes while leaning on your desk, and you don’t wake up until the phone of your desk begins to sound loudly, waking up Baby 5 and Buffalo as well.

“Yes?”, you are still sleepy when answering, but you focus when hearing Doflamingo at the other side of the line.

“ _(y/n), the police inspector is here and has asked us to let him take a look into the database_ ”

You wake up completely when hearing Doflamingo’s words. Oh shit, you had barely time to check that everything worked perfectly.

“Who is it?”, Buffalo asks when seeing your panicked expression.

“The police inspector”, you vocalize, causing Baby and Buffalo to gasp.

“What? Already?!”, Baby 5 exclaims.

“ _(y/n), do you think we can go to see it now or it’s better if we wait for you to finish the routine checking?”_

You gulp. Doflamingo was obviously offering you a little more of time to finish, but considering that he had said ‘routine checking’ that time couldn’t be much.

 “How are the rest going?”, you ask hurriedly at Baby 5, who had ran towards her own phone and was talking to the neighbor office.

“They are about to finish but they still need more time”, Baby 5 answers rapidly.

“How much?”

Baby 5 gulps.

“15 minutes or so”

You bite your bottom lip. Shit, it was risky as hell to show the database without having carried out the testing but you didn’t have any other choice.

“Well, since the other office is still with the verifications it’s better if you come here first”

Baby 5 and Buffalo look at you with horrified faces and you can just shrug with impotence. Since the other members hadn’t finished yet you were the ones who had to take the risk.

“ _Very well. We will be here in five minutes, since before I want to show this gentleman the rest of the company_ ”

The moment Doflamingo hangs up you rapidly ask Buffalo and Baby 5 to begin to check that everything worked fine. Five minutes weren’t close to enough but that was the time you had. You made sure to consult the most important clients, since it was probably that the inspector tried to find information of those, and when verifying that that worked you relaxed a little.

Exactly 5 minutes later someone knocks at the door. Baby 5, Buffalo and you interchange nervous glances before taking a deep breath. You vocalize a soundless ‘Ready?’ and when they nod you answer with a tense ‘Come in’.

The door opens and Doflamingo enters. He is wearing again his complete suit and he is followed by his two bodyguards and a young police inspector with pink hair and round violet glasses.

“Everyone, this is inspector Coby. He is here in Smoker’s name and has brought an order that allow him to inspect at its heart content, so make sure that you follow his indications”

Inspector Coby clears his throat at that moment and asks you to consult the database with a loud voice that makes evident how nervous he was despite his attempts of showing determination. However, when he accesses the database you get pale because despite his appearance, the inspector knew exactly what he was doing, and the inspection he was doing was scarily thorough.

The young man spends almost ten minutes checking everything. He makes some occasional questions that Baby 5, Buffalo and you manage to answer without any problem at all and when the man, clearly disappointed, stands up from your seat you suppress the urge of letting out a loud relieved sigh.

The Inspector asks then to look over the company documents and Doflamingo obviously agrees with a fake polite smile that just frustrates the young inspector even more.  Just before leaving Doflamingo offers you, Baby 5 and Buffalo an approving smile, and when the door closes behind them you three let out the air that you had been holding.

“Oh god”, Baby 5 flops into the sofa with a hand over her chest, “my heart is about to explode”

“Mine too”, Buffalo says with such a breathless voice that causes you to chuckle with nervousness.

“Well, it seems that we made it”, you say with relief, “let’s hope that the rest have had enough time to finish”

At the end the rest had enough time, because when the inspector Coby abandoned the neighbor office his frustration was awfully palpable.

“Alright, everything seems to be in check”, inspector Coby says reluctantly.

Doflamingo’s smirk turns cruel.

“Good. In that case could you do me a favor?”, Doflamingo leans over the young boy, who this time is unable to hide his apprehension, “please, tell your chief that no matter how hard he tries, our total integrity will be proved over and over again.  And that next time that he decides to pay us a surprise visit, I will pay him back in the same way. Have I made myself clear?”

You sincerely admire the inspector when he dares to half-close his eyes at Doflamingo when clearing detecting the threat in the man’s message. It was incredible that the menacing man that was now in front of the inspector was the same man that the night before had been playfully joking with you in the elevator. Definitely, Doflamingo was a complicated man. A man who it was better not to have as an enemy.

“I will retransmit your message”, inspector Coby says after clearing his throat, probably to recover his lost voice, “thank you very much for your time. You don’t need to accompany me to the exit”

After saying that, the inspector Coby walks (a little rapidly) towards the elevator. Trebol doesn’t even wait for the doors to close behind the young man and begins to laugh loudly.

“Behehehehe! We did it, neeee! That stupid Smoker has been unable to catch us again, neeee!”

“Trebol! Don’t be so loud: the inspector could be listening!”

“Pica, you are being louder than Trebol”

Pica huffed when hearing Diamantes’ reproach and everyone laughed at that.

“Thank goodness that Viola managed to delay the hour of the visit”, Senor Pink said, biting his pacifier a couple of times with energy, “at first they planned to arrive an hour or so before”

“I insist that a brief conversation wouldn’t have hurt anyone, iiin. Except probably him, iiin”

While the family keeps celebrating the success of the inspection you lean against the wall of the corridor and close your eyes. Now that everything was over you could feel tiredness finally reaching you. Damn, you really needed to sleep…

“(y/n)”, as always that you hear that voice, your eyes open again to look at Doflamingo, “I know that the only thing you probably want right now is to go home but can you accompany me to the office for a moment? It will be a second”

You nod before following the man. While you pass by the family everyone begins to thank you for your hard work and you manage to answer back with a shy smile. A part of you felt a little guilty because you knew that the correct thing to do would have been to support the inspector, not the family, but deep inside you couldn’t help to feel happy for having been able to help them.

“Take a seat”, Doflamingo offers you when you are in his office.

“I prefer to keep standing”, you reply, “if I sit I’m afraid to fall asleep”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your sleepy answer.

“Don’t worry, I promise that I will be brief”

Before leaning against his own desk facing you Doflamingo removes his jacket again and you wake up momentarily when the movement causes his black shirt to perfectly outline his broad chest.

“Well…”, Doflamingo leans his hands on the desk on either side of his body, “basically I want to thank you, (y/n). I really doubt that we could have done everything in time without your help, and for that reason you are free to ask me anything you want. I will fulfill your petition, no matter what it is”

Your eyes snap opened. You weren’t expecting Doflamingo’s sudden offer, and you were honestly too tired to think about what you wanted right now.

Doflamingo seems to notice that because he chuckles and talks again.

“However, I think it’s better if you are completely awake before asking. Your eyes are about to close on his own so go home and rest. You clearly deserve it”

Suddenly, something that Doflamingo has just said clicks inside your head, and before even thinking you are talking.

“Eyes”

Doflamingo, who has been about to circle his desk to sit on his chair, looks at you with curiosity.

“What?”

You gulp, feeling your heart beat hysterically in your chest for what you were going to ask next.

“Your eyes. I…”, you gulp, “…I would like to see them”

The silence that falls suddenly in the room while Doflamingo just keeps staring at you makes you regret immediately your request.

Shit, obviously you were talking in your sleep, what kind of petition was that?! It’s true that you have always felt curious about why the hell Doflamingo never showed his eyes but probably he had a good reason for it! What if he had a horrible scar that he wanted to hide? Or what if he was missing an eye? Or what if…?

However, your worries vanish when Doflamingo begins to laugh loudly.

“(y/n), you are one of a kind”, Doflamingo crosses his arms in front of his chest while watching you with a wide smirk, “I give you the chance to ask anything from me and you ask for that?  Do you realize that you could ask me to stop forcing you to work for me?”

You blush intensely. Damn, you were really an idiot. That possibility hadn’t crossed your mind in the least. Shit, you surely was really tired if you almost lost that chance by asking something as ridiculous as seeing Doflamingo’s eyes. Definitely, asking Doflamingo to finish the contract with you would be the most logical thing to do.

After all, that was what you want the most, right? To keep working just for Corazon and not to have to deal with sleepless tense nights anymore while doing surely illegal stuff. Yes, you didn’t want to keep working for Doflamingo. You didn’t want…

“Don’t worry, (y/n), I’ll be benevolent and I'll pretend I haven’t heard your first petition”, Doflamingo reassures you, “so what is it? Do you want to stop working for me?”

You gulp.

Damn it, why the hell you _didn’t_ want that?

“No”, your mouth is faster than your brain, so when you speak your voice comes a little faltering, “a-actually, working for you is not as bad as I thought I’d be, so I don’t mind to keep working here”

Surprisingly, Doflamingo didn’t look surprised in the least when hearing you. Damn it, how could that be when you yourself was still in shock for your own answer?

“Well, I’m glad to hear that _you don’t mind_ to work here”, Doflamingo repeats with amusement your last words, indicating you that he knows perfectly that you have purposely avoided to say that you _liked_ to work there, “then, does that mean that your first petition remains?”

You gulp again and after hesitating you nod. Doflamingo grins and situates just in front of you before bending down so that his face was at your level.

“Alright, (y/n). Satisfy your curiosity”

It takes you a moment to understand that Doflamingo has just given you permission to remove his glasses.

You feel your heart become hysterical inside your chest while you raise your hands to approach them to Doflamingo’s face. For goodness sake, what was wrong with you? Why the hell were you so agitated? Come on, you were going to take his glasses off, it wasn’t as if you were undressing him and removing that tight black shirt to…okay, thinking about undressing Doflamingo wasn’t going to calm you down but just the contrary, damn it!

“(y/n), my glasses aren’t going to explode or anything, it’s safe to touch them”

“I-I know that!”, you snap when hearing Doflamingo’s ironic comment. You suppress the urge of taking a deep breath. Okay, here you go.

After carefully grabbing the glasses’ legs you get mentally prepared to see a horrible scar or an empty eye socket.

However, when you finally remove Doflamingo’s lenses, the only thing that you see is a completely normal (and beautiful) pair of brown eyes, that were incredibly similar to Corazon’s ones though a little shaper, looking back at you with a glint of utter diversion in them.

“Disappointed?”, Doflamingo asks with irony.

You shake your head rapidly, feeling your heart beat even more rapidly. Crap, Doflamingo talking with his eyes on full display was new and made you incredibly nervous.

“No, not at all. It’s just that I thought that there was something wrong with your eyes since you…well, since you never show them”

Doflamingo chuckles before incorporating again.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with them. I always wear glasses because my dear father used to say that no one takes seriously a man who is unable to show his eyes to the world because that’s a sign of cowardice, so I just wanted to prove him how wrong he was”

Something in the way Doflamingo mentions his father makes you deduce that they weren’t in good terms, and now that you realized you had never heard Corazon speak about his father. Maybe you should ask him the next day. After all, you have asked Doflamingo more than enough for today.

You are going to return the glasses to Doflamingo when the man shakes his head negatively.

“You can keep them, I have several pairs. Although…”, Doflamingo smirks and signals the glasses with his eyes, “could you put them on before leaving?”

You blink with surprise but since his petition was curious and not too unreasonable you obey. The glasses were a little big for you but you still manage to wear them more or less comfortably.

“So?”, you say with an ironic smile, extending your arms, “do they suit me?”

Doflamingo doesn’t answer directly. He simply stares at you with intensity before taking a slow deep breath, and when talking next his tone has a hint of hunger on it that makes you whole body shudder, although you still don’t know if it’s because of fear or for another completely different reason.

“Yes, they do”

Doflamingo licks his lip slowly while keeping his brown eyes locked on you, and this time when you shiver again you are convinced that it’s _not_ because of fear.

“W-Well, I think I should be going”, you hurriedly remove the lenses and clear your throat while slowly putting some distance between Doflamingo and you, “this Friday I have to come to the office so I’ll see you then. Bye”

Without daring to look at Doflamingo again you turn around and practically run from Doflamingo’s office, blushing intensely while hearing Doflamingo’s characteristic laugh accompany you until you reach the elevator.

You lean against the wall of the elevator and absentmindedly play with Doflamingo’s glasses, that you are still sustaining in your hands. You remember that pair of intense brown eyes fixed just on you and another involuntarily shiver traverses by your body.

Damn it.

What in the earth was happening to you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are falling in love, (y/n). You are falling in love :D
> 
> Next chapter: biiirthday party! Will something happen between Doflamingo and you in a more relaxed ambience? Who knows :)


	10. The Party - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doflamingo’s birthday party begins together with certain awkward situations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not going to describe the costume that (y/n) wears so that you can imagine it the way you want :P If you have trouble picturing a costume simply google ‘pirate costume women’ and you’ll get a lot of ideas :D I’d choose [this one](https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/15499/1-1/womens-deluxe-swashbuckler-costume.jpg), btw. And Rebecca’s pirate outfit is [this one](https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/10112/1-1/sexy-rouge-pirate-costume.jpg).

“Bartolomeo, you are cutting the fabric too irregularly”

“Cabbage, it is supposed to be irregular”

“Yes, but you still have to follow the pattern and you are ignoring it!”

“I’m not ignoring it. I’m just re-interpreting it”

“Argh, you are impossible”

“Yep, and you like me for that”

“Tsk, keep dreaming”

You roll your eyes and suppress an amused smile while hearing the continuous bickering-flirting of your two friends.

Almost three weeks had passed since the inspection that took place in Doflamingo’s company and during that time nothing too relevant had happened in the shop, with the exception of the birthday of Corazon’s boyfriend on October 6.

Fortunately, this time Corazon didn’t ask for your help to prepare the doctor a birthday party. He just asked for ideas to choose a present, and when you commented that you have seen a nearby toy shop which a lot of cute push toys the man immediately went there and ended buying a gigantic teddy polar bear.

You honestly doubted that Trafalgar liked such a childish present, but to your surprise the next day you received a message from the doctor thanking you for having helped Corazon in the choice of the present, and indeed Trafalgar’s new profile photo was him with Beppo (that was the name that Trafalgar gave to the bear).

Regarding your job in the company, there hadn’t been anything too remarkable either. You spent most part of your time properly implementing the mirrored data base by following Monet’s indications so that the next time that there was an inspection you didn’t have to depend on your occultation program, that was really useful for emergencies but obviously not in the long-term.

About Doflamingo, he had been absent in a business trip for almost two weeks and the only time that you saw him after that was when your eyes almost popped out their sockets when seeing your first salary. You went to see Doflamingo to point that there were surely a couple of extra zeroes in your payment that shouldn’t be there, which caused Doflamingo to burst out laughing while assuring you that there wasn’t any kind of mistake.

You tried to convince the man that what he had paid you was exorbitant but, as you had in part expected, discussing with Doflamingo when he had made up his mind was more useless than doing it with a wall and eventually you accepted the unfair money, although reluctantly. At least, you didn’t have to worry about paying the rent by the rest of the year at least.

Finally, Jora told you that all the family was aware of the surprise party, so during the last days you had been receiving emails from the members of the family telling you the costume that they wanted and there you were now: in the measurement room helping Corazon to create some of the costumes together with Bartolomeo and Cavendish.

“I still don’t understand why that Baby 5 wants a maid costume if it’s a pirate party”, Bartolomeo comments to himself while keeping cutting the (according to Cavendish too irregular) headband that Baby 5 would wear in her head.

“You shouldn’t talk too much”, you reply with a joking tone while working on Diamante’s impossibly complicated hat, “after all you are going to look like a rocker pirate with the outfit you have chosen”

Bartolomeo snorts.

“Cabbage is worse”, Bartolomeo elbows the blonde man suddenly, “he is just going to wear a cape over his fancy clothes”

“ _Ouch_! You brute, you have made me stick the needle on my finger”, Cavendish exclaims, signaling an almost imperceptible injury in his index finger.

“For goodness sake, Cabbage, it isn’t even bleeding”

“No, but it hurts, you idiot”

Bartolomeo rolls his eyes before rudely grabbing Cavendish’s hand and your mouth falls open when Bartolomeo suddenly introduces Cavendish’s ‘injured’ index finger in his mouth and begins to softly lick it. You see Cavendish get incredibly red while observing Bartolomeo, biting his bottom lip as if he was suppressing the urge to let out a probable undignified sound.

After some seconds Bartolomeo lets go Cavendish’s finger with a soft pop and talks with a completely normal tone, as if he hadn’t done anything weird at all.

“Better?”, Bartolomeo looks at Cavendish with surprise, “wow, Cabbage, you are red as a tomato, have you a fever or someth-?”

“I’M PERFECTLY FINE, THANK YOU”

You manage to hold back your laughter when Bartolomeo looks with confusion at Cavendish abandon the room towards the bathroom rather hurriedly, but when the punk turns to look at you and asks a completely oblivious ‘ _What’s wrong with him?_ ’ you can’t help to begin to laugh just when Corazon enters the room.

“Oh, have I missed something?”, Corazon asks with a curious smile while looking at you.

“Nah, just Cavendish acting weird as hell”

Bartolomeo’s answer causes you to laugh again despite your attempts of not doing so. Corazon hums to himself, clearly suspecting that something more had happened but deciding not to press the matter.

“By the way (y/n), can you come with me for a second?”

“Sure”, you say standing up to follow the man to the entrance of the shop.

As always that you are alone with Corazon your heart begins to beat just a little faster but this time you realize with surprise that you aren’t as nervous as usual.

“Alright”, Corazon gestures you to look at a rather big opened book that is over the counter, “you are the only one who remains to choose your costume so here you have all the possible options”

You sigh with a smile and begin to pass the pages of the book.

“I told you already that it’s fine if I just borrow one of the costumes that we have in stock. It’s not necessary that you create one from scratch”

Corazon shakes his head.

“Sorry, but you’re not going to be the only one in not having a custom made outfit, so choose”

You chuckle when hearing Corazon’s stubborn tone and begin to look for an outfit. For a tiny moment you are tempted to ask Corazon for the costume that Doflamingo is going to wear but you decide to remain quiet because if you asked Corazon could think that you were too interested in his brother and reach a wrong conclusion.

After almost a minute a certain outfit catches your attention.

“I think I have it”

Corazon looks over your shoulder and when feeling the man leaning softly against your back your heart misses a beat, but again you don’t get red nor feel your heart beat hysterically as it usually happened until now. Well, maybe you were finally getting used to the man’s presence after two whole years. Because there was no way that your lack of reaction was because you liked Corazon less. You still liked the man a lot and you were still in love with him. That hadn’t changed.

“Oh, good choice”, Corazon looks at you from head to toe with a smile, “it will look really well on you”

Again, against all odds, you find yourself getting just a little red, nothing compared to how flustered you became every time that Corazon told you something nice. Damn, could it really be that, somehow, your love for Corazon had _decreased_? But that didn’t have any sense! After all nothing had changed between you two.

At that moment the image of Doflamingo looking at you with his brown eyes on display appears on your mind. You shake your head, trying to ignore how this time your heart has begun to beat faster. Come on, that couldn’t be. It was true that your initial opinion of Doflamingo had changed and that you didn’t hate him anymore, and that you thought that he was attractive, and that you liked the way he cared about his family (you included), and that you honestly didn’t dislike anymore when he teased you, but all that didn’t mean that you _liked_ him. Right?

“(y/n)…is something wrong?”

You realize too late that you have begun to frown during your inner debate and that Corazon is looking at you lightly confused. You gulp nervously.

“N-No, nothing wrong, sorry, just got lost on my thoughts”, you push away your previous thoughts and offer an animated smile to Corazon, “and what about you, boss? What outfit are you going to wear?”

You suppress a relieved sigh when the change of subject is successful and Corazon’s expression brightens the moment you mention his lovely costumes. Thank goodness that Corazon was easier to deal with than his brother. _Way_ easier.

* * *

“Becca, I insist that it’s not necessary that you-”

“ _Shhh_! Keep quiet and let me use this lipstick on you. You’ll see how much this color suits you”

You sigh in defeat while obeying your bossy friend. You were in the bathroom of your shared apartment, sitting on the edge of the bathtub while letting Rebecca make you up despite your protests.

“You know that real female pirates didn’t waste any time in ‘putting themselves pretty’, right?”

Rebecca rolls her eyes when hearing your ironic comment and keeps with her task while purposely ignoring you. At the end she had practically self-invited herself to Doflamingo’s birthday party since, according to her, you were going to waste a lot of opportunities to get closer to Doflamingo. Because yeah, now somehow Rebecca had passed from wanting to pair you up with Corazon to do it with _Doflamingo_ , and of course it didn’t matter how much you insisted that you didn’t want anything with the man.

You suppress another resigned sigh. Definitely it had been a bad idea to tell Rebecca that Doflamingo had been about to kill Trafalgar because of you _and_ that he had shown you his eyes. That had just caused Rebecca to think that Doflamingo was cute (yeah, Doflamingo _cute_ ) and that you definitely had to get over Corazon already to focus on his brother instead.

“Alright, done”, Rebecca smiles satisfied, “come on, look at you. I dare you to tell me that you don’t see yourself super pretty”

You do as Rebecca says and against your will you can’t help to smile as well because Rebecca has made an excellent work. The makeup that she had used on you highlighted your (e/c) eyes and that lipsticks really looked good on you.

“Okay, I admit it: you have done a great job”

Rebecca huffs.

“I’ve done a _magnificent_ job”, she corrects you with a purposely superior tone, causing you to chuckle, “okay, let’s put our costumes on already or we’ll be late”

Twenty minutes later Rebecca and you finally abandon the apartment, and just ten minutes later you have arrived at the costume shop, which theoretically was already closed (since it was 19.30 p.m. already) but actually it wasn’t, since the party was going to take place there.

“By the way, have you congratulated Doflamingo for his birthday?”, Rebecca asks suddenly when you are knocking at the door of the shop.

“No, his birthday is actually in a couple of days, but Corazon decided to celebrate the party during the weekend because Doflamingo is out the next week as well”

“And does he usually travel a lot? Because when you eventually get together it will be a pity if he is too busy to be with you. Although well, you can always travel with him”

You glare at Rebecca while the girl smiles innocently at you, but before you have time to reply anything the door opens and an already dressed up Bartolomeo opens the door and offers you a fanged smile.

“Welcome, pirate ladies! Bartolomeo ‘the Cannibal’ salutes you!”

You both begin to laugh when the fangs that Bartolomeo is wearing cause him to lisp a little.

“You sound like a dopey vampire talking like that”

Bartolomeo half-closes his eyes at you both when hearing Rebecca’s comment before beginning to close the door again, but Rebecca and you prevent him from doing so by apologizing with loud voices that cause Cavendish to go to the entrance as well.

“Bartolomeo, stop being such a kid and let them enter”

“Hey, they have begun by mocking my fangs!”

“We haven’t”, Rebecca replies with a mischievous smile, “we have just mocked your lisping”

While Rebecca keeps teasing a sulking Bartolomeo you talk to Cavendish.

“Is everyone already here?”, you ask.

“The only ones who are left are Machvise, Gladius and Viola who will come later with Doflamingo. But you should go to see Corazon: he is a little hysterical because Jora’s costume has just broken in one of its sides when the woman has tried it on”

You follow Cavendish towards the measurement room. The whole family was still dressing up and Corazon, in the middle of the ruckus, was on his knees sustaining a couple of needles between his red lips while sewing Jora’s broken dress.

“Sorry, dear: I think that I may have gained a little of weight since you measured me and for that reason…oh, good afternoon, (y/n)”

Corazon turns to look at you when Jora greets you, and you are about to being to laugh when seeing the S.O.S call that is shown in Corazon’s eyes.

“Do you need help?”

Your unnecessary question caused Corazon to nod rapidly so you approach the man and begins to follow his instructions to fix the dress. A couple of minutes later Trafalgar enters the room carrying some fabric with him. He was already dressed and against your will you have to admit to yourself that the man was definitely handsome.

“Alright, this is the only fabric of that color that I have found”, Trafalgar notices you, “oh, you’re here already. Thank goodness: Cora-san was about to suffer a panic attack”

You find yourself exhaling a laugh when Corazon glares at his smirking boyfriend. You are surprised of your own lack of jealously but now definitely wasn’t the moment to analyze your change of attitude towards Corazon and Trafalgar’s interactions. Now the most urgent matter was to fix Jora’s costume.

While Corazon, Trafalgar and you worked on that, Rebecca made sure to control that Sugar didn’t ruin the others’ outfits (especially Dellinger’s) by throwing grapes, and also mediated between Bartolomeo and Cavendish, since the first one was mocking the second one by saying that he was dressed as a pompous prince instead of as a pirate. Fortunately, the two lovebirds were good at multitasking so they could help to prepare the party snacks while keeping fighting-flirting.

Finally, half-an-hour later Jora’s outfit was impeccable and it was almost time for Doflamingo’s arrival. Corazon had made up the excuse that he needed his brother’s help in some legal business related to the shop and Doflamingo had agreed to meet him at 20.00 p.m.

Just at that hour a couple of firm knocks sounded at the door, so Corazon hurries everyone to hide in the different rooms of the shop: measurement room, office, back-shop and even the small supply closet, where Rebecca hides just with Sugar to prevent her to keep quarrelling with Dellinger.

You are about to join Bartolomeo and Cavendish in the office when Corazon stops you.

“Wait, (y/n)”, Corazon signals a gigantic bag full of confetti that is hidden under the counter and a devious smile suddenly appears in his usually kind face, “please, could you hide under the counter and help me to throw this at Doffy after everyone appears? He did this to me on my 24 birthday and I spent one week coughing confetti, so now it’s his turn”

When the image of a serious Doflamingo covered in confetti appears in your mind you practically stomp under the counter without hesitation and your enthusiastic reaction causes Corazon to laugh.

Another couple of knocks sound again so Corazon finally approaches the door of the shop. From where you are you hear Doflamingo asking if everything is alright. The voices become louder as they approach your position and when you see Corazon’s legs next under counter you get a little nervous.

 You didn’t know if Doflamingo was aware of what was about to happen but for the serious tone of the conversation you deduced that no, he hadn’t the least idea.

“So what happens? Don’t tell me that Smoker has sent someone to bother you as well because then I will kill him for real”

Doflamingo’s deadly tone provokes an involuntarily shiver down your spine. Nope, definitely he didn’t seem to know what everything was about.

“Doffy, you said that we should keep a low profile”, you hear Viola say with a reproachful tone.

“A small bomb counts as a low profile?”

“I don’t think so, iiiin”

You hear Corazon chuckle when hearing Gladius and Machvise’s comments.

“Don’t worry, Doffy, it’s not that serious”

You can feel Doflamingo’s tension even if you aren’t seeing him.

“Corazon, I thought that you were facing a legal problem when receiving your call, so if it’s not _that serious_ why have you made me come in such a hurr-”

At that precise moment the doors of the different rooms open at the same time and a loud high-pitched ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!’ that unmistakably belongs to Pica resounds above the rest of the voices. At the same time Corazon’s hand appears under the counter making an approach gesture with his fingers, so without wasting any more time you get out the counter with more or less difficulty.

You have barely time to see Doflamingo looking with stupor at the rest of the family stepping in the shop entrance before Corazon (with your help) throws the content of the heavy bag over Doflamingo, causing the man to end covered in glittering multicolored confetti before having time to react.

“Happy Birthday two days prior, brother”, Corazon says with a wide smile while the rest of the family begins to laugh loudly, “sorry, but this was the only way to make you go to the party”

For a tiny moment you are afraid that Doflamingo gets angry, because his expression was as unreadable as always. However, after some seconds the man simply removes some confetti that had got stuck in his glasses and after sighing he exhales a short snicker.

“You son of a…”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t you dare to insult mum”

Corazon’s comment causes everyone to laugh again, you included. The family then approaches Doflamingo and you find yourself smiling like an idiot when Corazon steps out the counter to hug his older brother. It was funny how close they were despite they couldn’t be more different. Definitely you wanted to know more about Corazon and Doflamingo’s past.

“By the way, little brother”, Doflamingo suddenly looks at you with a smile on his face, “is it just me or that beautiful pirate there has helped you with your confetti revenge?”

You blush when realizing that the ‘beautiful pirate’ that he has mentioned is you.

“Yes, she has”, Corazon answers with a wide smile, “in fact she was really eager to cover you in confetti. I haven’t had to tell her twice”

“Oh, is that so?”

You can’t help to gulp when Doflamingo’s smirk wears the promise of eventually making you pay for your behavior, but instead of feeling afraid or nervous you feel completely at ease when answering back with a fake innocent tone.

“I just thought that your black suit was too boring for a birthday party and that a little of color would surely improve it”

The family laughs when hearing your ironic comment but you just make sure to smile daringly at Doflamingo, whose grin just grows even more.

After more moments of animated talking Corazon asks Doflamingo, Gladius, Machvise and Viola to accompany him so that they get dressed as well. Corazon also asks you, Bartolomeo and Cavendish help to bring the costumes that had been kept safe in the back-shop so that they didn’t get stained while the rest of the family was changing.

Just when you are about to go with your two coworkers you see Rebecca making you a gesture that indicates you that she wanted to talk to you urgently, and you don’t know why but you are pretty sure what the topic of conversation was going to be.

“Okay, here are the costumes”, Bartolomeo announces when you three enter the measurement room some minutes later.

“Thank you”, after admiring her awesome dress Viola turns to look at you, “oh, I almost forget: Corazon wanted to see you now in the office”

“Oh, okay”

In order to go to the office you irremediably pass through the shop entrance as well and see that the family has begun to mount a table to place the snacks on it. In fact, some members of the family have begun to eat already, and when seeing the quantity of snacks that Trebol manages to put in his mouth in one go you begin to think that maybe Corazon hadn’t bought so many food after all.

When you reach the office, the habit of working there almost every day makes you enter without even knocking. However, when you open the door and the first thing you see is Doflamingo facing the door without his glasses _and_ with his upper half completely exposed, leaving at full display his toned pectorals and his defined six-pack, you discover that this time you definitely _should have knocked_.

“Oh, hello, (y/n)”, Doflamingo’s initial surprised expression is immediately replaced by a mocking one, “do you need something or you just like to stare at people when is changing?”

You manage to somehow avert your eyes from Doflamingo’s sinful body (goddammit, was that man really 41?!) to look at him in the eyes, but the playful glint that you see in them just causes you to end redder than you are already.

“I-I didn’t want to spy! Besides, why the hell are you changing in the office instead of doing it in the measurement room like everyone else?!”

“Well, the washing machine is in your office and I just wanted to wash my suit. Besides, it’s your fault for not knocking, young lady”

Doflamingo’s teasing tone and sounded logic just embarrass you more. In fact, you are so nervous trying to find a proper way to defend yourself that you don’t notice that Corazon is also in the room until the man clears his throat and looks at his brother with a wary expression.

“Doffy…your…”

Corazon subtly signals his own eyes but Doflamingo’s reaction is to chuckle.

“Don’t worry, Corazon: she has seen me without glasses before”

Corazon’s eyes snap open in disbelief.

“Has she?”, Doflamingo simply nods and Corazon’s expression slowly turns knowing and amused at the same time, “ _oh_ ”

You gulp when seeing Corazon’s expression because it looked really similar to the way Rebecca looked at you when she tried to convince you that Doflamingo could be a great boyfriend.

“A-Anyway, what did you want to tell me?”

Corazon looks at you with surprise.

“Me? Nothing”

You blink confused but almost immediately you understand. It seemed that Viola has just lied to you to make you meet Doflamingo. For goodness sake, how many people were trying to pair you up with the man?!

“Okay, it doesn’t matter”, you eventually say, “sorry for the interruption”

You are about to leave the room when Doflamingo speaks.

“One second, (y/n)”

Your heart misses a beat when suddenly Doflamingo (a _half-naked Doflamingo_ ) approaches you and takes your right wrist in his hand to observe the leather bracelet that you are wearing on it.

“What are you doing?”, you ask confused, trying to keep your tone with an acceptable level of calm when Doflamingo slowly removes the jewel to leave your wrist exposed.

“Oh, what a shame”, Doflamingo speaks with an overly disappointed tone, “I was hoping that you were wearing another _bracelet_ under this”

It takes you a couple of seconds to understand that Doflamingo is referring to the time when you were wearing the black panties hidden under your own bracelet, and when you do you can’t help to chuckle.

“No, sorry, this time I’m not wearing any extra _bracelet_ ”

Your ironic reply causes Doflamingo to smirk.

“Maybe this time you are wearing that _bracelet_ the way you should wear it”

You blush a little but you are proud of your casual voice when replying.

“Maybe. But I’m afraid that you are not going to discover it”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your cutting answer.

“Well, that is indeed a pity”

You find yourself fighting not to smile back when hearing Doflamingo’s seductive answer.  Shit, definitely there was something wrong with you because it wasn’t normal to enjoy this teasing game that much.

At that moment Corazon clears his throat and you gulp when realizing that you had forgotten for a moment that the younger Donquixote, _your crush_ , was in the room. But of course that was Doflamingo’s fault. His presence was so…umh… _intense_ that you had been unable to focus on everything else. Yeah. That was surely the motive.

“Doffy, I don’t want to interrupt your talk with (y/n) but the family is waiting, so maybe you should get changed”

Doflamingo grunts (with certain reluctance) before turning towards Corazon, who was smiling with amusement at his brother _and_ also at you.

After saying a hurried goodbye you abandon the office and return to the entrance. Someone had turned on the music, which enlivened the ambience but also caused the family to be even louder while speaking, although that was something that you didn’t mind too much since you were used to your not precisely quiet coworkers.

You have barely begun to approach the table stuffed with snacks when suddenly Rebecca appears just next to you making you jump startled.

“Jeez, Becca, do you want to kill me from a heart attack?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that Doflamingo is way hotter in reality than in the photos?!”, you blush and shush Rebecca, and fortunately the girl obeys even if she keeps talking rather heatedly, “god, if it wasn’t that obvious that he is going after you _I_ would go after him, I swear”

“He is not going after me”, Rebecca raises an eyebrow and you gulp, “okay, it’s true that it’s not the first time that he… _flirts_ with me, but maybe he just does it to tease me”

Rebecca rolls her eyes with patience.

“Definitely my friend is dumber than I thought”

“Hey!”

Rebecca teases you a little more about your lack of intuition before disappearing to take something to eat. Meanwhile you go to take a drink, since your throat had ended a little dry because of your previous spying-accident in the office.

You have just grabbed a plastic cup and are deciding what drink to choose when Trafalgar situates next to you.

“You should try the apple juice. It’s rather tasty”

“Oh, okay”, you let Trafalgar fill your cup, “what about the food? Something that you recommend?”

“Well, the ham croquettes are pretty good. And the sandwiches seem to be rather tasty as well but I haven’t tried them”

“Oh, yes, I had forgotten your hate for the bread”

You are surprised when your comment causes Trafalgar to change his weight from one foot to another a little awkwardly.

“Yes, I know that it’s something weird”

Since you have made Trafalgar uncomfortable even if it wasn’t your intention at all, you immediately speak again with a reassuring tone.

“Not especially. I know a girl that doesn’t like chocolate. _That_ ’s weird”

Trafalgar looks at you with a suspicious expression.

“Have you just made that up to make me feel better?”

You shake your head negatively.

“Nope, I’m saying the truth. Ask Becca about her friend Boa if you don’t believe me”

When realizing that you are being completely sincere Trafalgar chuckles with a hint of relief before taking a sip of his cup. You can’t help to stare at the tattoo of his knuckles and after hesitating you decide to ask.

“Just out of curiosity, why are you wearing the word ‘Death’ tattooed in your hand?”, Trafalgar looks at you with surprise, “well, if you want to tell me, if don’t…”

“No, it’s okay. Maybe you don’t know but I am a surgeon. My father was one as well and I always wanted to follow his steps, since I was a kid, and every time that I told my father about it he always warned me by saying: ‘ _Are you sure, son? This job is to save lives, but that also means that death will be in your hands with every operation that you perform_ ’. So…”, Trafalgar extends his hand in front of him and observes his own tattoo, “…I decided to take his words literally and mark them in my skin. That way, every time that I’m in an operation I remember his words. It’s true that that puts extra pressure on me, but it also allows me to give my all”

You stare at Trafalgar for several seconds and then without even thinking you exclaim an impressed ‘ _How cool!!_ ’ that makes the man open his eyes wide.

“Do you really think so?”, Trafalgar asks hesitantly.

“Yeah, totally”, you said while nodding, “honestly, I had been wondering why you had tattooed something like that but none of my theories was as cool as the real motive”

Trafalgar chuckles while blushing lightly.

“Well, thank you”, he smiles with curiosity, “and what were the other theories?”

You laugh a little nervously.

“Weeeell, my best theory was that maybe when you were younger you went through an emo phase that caused you to tattoo that to yourself”

Trafalgar begins to laugh when hearing your explanation and you are surprised because it was probably the first time that you saw the man laugh.

“Well, it was a rather probable explanation”, he concedes, and then suddenly his expression turns serious again, “by the way, (y/n)…I would like to apologize”

Your eyes open wide in surprise.

“Apologize? Why?”

“Well…”, Trafalgar’s tone becomes guilty when talking next, “I don’t know if you noticed it but until I began to go out with Cora-san I was kind of a jerk with you. That first day when I saw you with him in the medical office I practically kicked you out of there, and I was always cold with you, so I’m really sorry. At first I thought that maybe you could like Cora-san as well and since you both were so close and he always talked so well about you I was afraid that he liked you instead of me”

After some seconds you exhale a soft tense chuckle because Trafalgar’s deduction couldn’t have been more accurate.

“Oh, don’t worry about it”, you say with just a light nervous tone, “it was pretty obvious why you hated me so I made sure to show you quickly that I was not interested in the boss that way”

Trafalgar chuckles with relief when hearing your answer. The truth is that it was a nice change to be able to speak to the man so naturally.

“Yes, I was not very subtle”, suddenly, Trafalgar’s smile slowly turns knowing, “and now I know that I mistook the Donquixote for whom you have fallen”

Trafalgar’s words make your mouth fall completely open.

“What?!”, you exclaim bright red, “t-that’s not true! I’m not interested in any Donquixote: neither Corazon and nor Doflamingo!”

Trafalgar frowns, showing a truthful confused expression.

“Oh, are you sure?”

“Totally sure”, you answer effusively. _Too_ effusively.

Trafalgar hums to himself, as if he wasn’t in the least convinced. You are about to insist but just that moment the Donquixote brothers make their triumphant entrance and the only thing you can do is to stare with a dumbfounded expression at Doflamingo.

Because yes, Corazon was perfect with that heart shaped t-shirt and that black feathery coat that was a replica of the one his brother wore, but Doflamingo’s costume made impossible for you to avert your eyes from him since the white pirate shirt that he was wearing was completely _unbuttoned_ , allowing you to see again his too tempting sculpted upper-body, and again how the hell were you going to be able to pay attention to anything else than that?!

At that moment you hear Trafalgar clearing his throat next to you and immediately look at him to see him smiling at you with amusement.

“‘Totally sure?’”, he repeats with irony.

You gulp, feeling your cheeks heat up. Definitely, it was becoming more and more difficult to convince everyone that you weren’t interested in Doflamingo, and somehow you feel that by the end of the party it was going to be even more difficult to self-convince yourself of that fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, the chapter was getting too long and I’ve decided to divide it in two -.-
> 
> I also know that there has been very little interaction with Doffy in this chapter but I promise that I will fix that in the next part and that the wait will be worth it!


	11. The Party - Part 2

After Corazon and Doflamingo join the party Law excuses himself to go with his boyfriend. You see the doctor approaching the two brothers and Corazon gesturing between Doflamingo and Law, so you deduce that Corazon is introducing his boyfriend to Doflamingo.

You watch Doflamingo speak with Law and you can’t help to see it ironic because just a month ago Doflamingo offered you to almost kill the poor man, and now there he was: having a polite conversation with him as if he had never had the least bad intentions against him. Definitely, Doflamingo was a versatile interesting fellow. You couldn’t possibly bring yourself to deny that.

At that moment the rest of the Donquixote members that had arrived together with Doflamingo appear dressed up as well, and you are surprised when Rebecca suddenly approaches Viola to hug her with affection. The two women talk for a little while until Rebecca eventually signals towards your direction, moment in which Viola nods with a smile and kisses Rebecca softly in her temple before the girl finally goes with you.

“Wow, it’s been almost a year since the last time I saw my aunt”

Your eyes open wide.

“Aunt? Viola is _your aunt_?”

Rebecca nods with a smile.

“Yep, she is my mother’s sister. She used to live with dad and me after mum died but some years ago she found a job and stopped living with us, although I had no idea that she worked for your new crush”

“Hey, Doflamingo is not my new crush!”

“Oh, come on, (y/n): you were drooling right now while looking at him”

“I-I wasn’t!”

“Yep, you were, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you”, you half-close your eyes at your best friend but the girl keeps talking as nothing, “it has just occurred to me a really funny game for the party and I am preparing it right now with Barto and Cavendish. Do you want to help us as well with it? I promise that you’ll love it”

You are about to ask what ‘really funny game’ was that but at that moment you notice Doflamingo looking towards your direction before beginning to approach.

“Oh, your future hot boyfriend seems to want to talk to you”, Rebecca has the nerve to smile charmingly at you, “then don’t worry about the game. We three will finish it and we’ll warn everyone when it is ready!”

“O-Oi!”

Rebecca just ignores your call and disappears with an animated wave of her hand. You sigh with resignation. Not knowing what Rebecca had planned for the party made you really nervous. Even more nervous than when Doflamingo got close to you and-

“So Viola’s niece is your roomate”

Your gulp when Doflamingo asks that just behind you. Okay, maybe Rebecca didn’t make you _that_ nervous.

“Yes, I didn’t know it though”, you turn around to face Doflamingo and makes sure to focus just in his face and not to stare too much at any other part of his body, “I would have introduced her to you but she is busy preparing some kind of game for the party”

Doflamingo nods to himself before taking a bottle of wine from the table.

“Would you like some?”

You shake your head negatively when Doflamingo points at your glass with his chin.

“No, thank you. I don’t like wine very much”

Doflamingo’s smirk turns familiarly teasing.

“That’s just because your taste buds aren’t developed enough. You still have to grow up to appreciate it”

This time, you decide to answer with irony instead of glaring at the man as you have been about to do.

“Well, maybe this wine is just meant to be liked by men of certain age”

Doflamingo’s amused smirk expands a little.

“Are you subtly calling me _old_ , young lady?”

You shrug.

“It depends: are you subtly calling me a _kid_ , boss?”

Doflamingo laughs loudly when hearing your quick answer and you yourself has to make an effort not to join him.

“Your replies are getting bolder and bolder, (y/n). What’s happened with that girl that got so scared every time that I approached her?”

“Oh, that girl isn’t gone completely”, you speak with same playful tone than Doflamingo has used, “but she has simply learnt that there is nothing to fear as long as she is part of the family _and_ doesn’t dare to betray you”

Doflamingo hums approvingly when hearing your answer.

“Well, that girl is surely something. No wonder she caught my interest the moment I got to know her a little better”

This time, you can’t possibly stop the blush that reaches your cheeks and that surely travels to your ears after hearing Doflamingo say that with total casualness. Shit, you would really like to answer to that with the same ease but you couldn’t. Not without dying from embarrassment.

“S-So, Corazon has introduced Law to you, right? What do you think about him?”

For goodness sake, what a lame way to change the subject. If Doflamingo mocked you for that you’d certainly deserve it. However, it seemed that the man was in a merciful mood and he accepted the obvious change of topic with a little smirk.

“We haven’t talked much but he hasn’t even flinched when I warned him about not hurting my brother, so I admire him for that”, Doflamingo looks at you with curiosity, “and what do _you_ think about him?”

You are about to laugh because Corazon asked you that with the same words the first time that you met Law in his medical office.

“At first I thought that he was really serious and cold but after talking to him I think he is a really nice guy. And he’s rather attractive too”

You hesitate in adding the last part but you eventually do. It was the truth after all.

“Oh, so you like skinny short guys?”

You can’t help to laugh when hearing Doflamingo’s comment because his description of Law couldn’t be more purposely inaccurate. 

“He isn’t skinny in the least, he is just lean. And the fact that he is _just_ 1.90 and doesn’t reach the 2.00 meters like you doesn’t mean that he is short”

“2.05”, Doflamingo rectifies with a grin, making you roll your eyes with patience, “but you haven’t answered my question, is Trafalgar Law your type?”

Again, a question that Corazon had asked you as well.

“No, I certainly prefer men like Corazon”

You regret your words when seeing Doflamingo’s wolfish grin. _Crap_.

“You mean tall, blonde and strong men with brown eyes?”

You think furiously in a way to answer when Doflamingo asks that with amusement.

“No, I mean men with pale skin, lipstick and a propensity to trip down and fall”

Again, your rapid answer causes Doflamingo to snicker.

“Fufufu~. It seems that from now on I’ll have to work harder to catch you off guard”

You dare to raise your glass towards the man with a smile.

“Practice makes perfect”

Doflamingo chimes his glass against yours playfully before taking a sip. At that moment a couple of loud clapping sound over the music and murmur and everyone turns to look at Corazon, the man responsible of the calling of attention.

“Okay, everyone, I think it’s time to give Doffy his present!”

The present consisted in a new pair of flashy green sunglasses. One of Doflamingo’s hobbies was to collect glasses of different colors, so to choose the present has been rather easy. The difficult thing has been to choose the right color, but Jora had been in charge of taking note of the colored lenses that Doflamingo already had and when she learnt that, it was Corazon’s task to find the appropriate model.

“I spent almost four hours searching on the Internet until finding them, so you better use them”

Doflamingo laughs loudly when hearing Corazon’s menacing tone.

“I will, little brother”, Doflamingo turns around, living his back to the family, and when he faces them again he was wearing the new pair of lenses, “happy?”

Corazon smiles and nods, causing his older brother to laugh again, and you think for thousandth time that one way or another you wanted to eventually learn the whole story of the Donquixote Brothers.

“Everyone! Can you pay attention for a second?”

At that moment Rebecca’s voice sounds above the collective murmur and when you look at your friend you see that she has stepped on a chair to be seen by everyone. You also see that Bartolomeo and Cavendish are on either side of Rebecca, the first one looking rather enthusiastic and the second one a little nervous.

“Thanks”, Rebecca smiles when everyone focus on her, and you can’t help to admire the girl’s ability to talk in front of such a unique people without feeling intimidated in the least, “first of all, Bartolomeo, Cavendish and I want to thank Corazon for having invited us to the party as well even if we are not part of the Donquixote family. For that reason, we wanted to contribute somehow to this birthday and we have prepared a game, so…”, Rebecca looks at Doflamingo, “…if the birthday man agrees, we would like to explain it and, if it’s a game of your liking, play it as well”

Doflamingo’s simple answer is to nod briefly with an amused smile, causing Rebecca’s face to illuminate.

“Great!”, Rebecca extends her arms towards Bartolomeo and Cavendish, who place a set of several cards in the girl’s hands, “okay…have you ever played truth or dare?”

During the next minutes Rebecca explains the game. Basically, people sit down in chairs or in the floor forming a circle, and in turns each player decides to play ‘truth’ or ‘dare’. Once the choice has been made, a random card is selected and the player has to do as the card says. ‘Truth’ consists of answering a question, and ‘dare’ to carry out a challenge. If the person fails or refuses to do as the card says, he suffers the penalty that is written in the same card.

“And that’s the game. Any questions?”

The members of the family begin to talk among themselves, and you are surprised to see that everyone seemed quite enthusiastic with the idea of the game. However, a sudden doubt invades you that causes you to raise your hand.

“Yes, just one. Those cards…”, you look at Rebecca suspiciously, “…where they come from?”

It’s Bartolomeo the one who answers with a wide smile.

“We have created them. We have taken some ideas from the Internet but we have invented others”

“Exactly”, Rebecca says in a proud tone, “and I can assure you that they will be really _funny_ to play”

You gulp. You didn’t like how Rebecca had spelled the word ‘funny’ one bit.

After the entire family decides that is going to play, everyone forms a rather wide circle following Rebecca’s indications. You make sure _not_ to sit next to Doflamingo _and_ Corazon, because the last time that you have seen a ‘truth or dare’ game, several cards consisted of interacting with the people that was sitting just next to you, so you wanted to be sure to avoid any possible embarrassing situations involving the Donquixote brothers. Therefore, you end sitting between Law and Bartolomeo and almost in front of Doflamingo, who was sitting between Corazon and Trebol.

“I have never played something like this before”, Law looks at you, “what would you recommend me: choose ‘truth’ or ‘dare’?”

You are about to answer that you have just seen other people play but that you have never actually played, but when seeing Law’s concerned expression you decide to show yourself confident.

“I personally prefer ‘dare’ because it usually consists of doing something ridiculous, and I deal better with that than having to say something about me”

Law nods to himself.

“Alright, then ‘dare’ to death”

You can’t help to laugh when hearing Law’s answer, but before being able to agree with the doctor Bartolomeo leans to whispers something in your ear.

“Be careful with always choosing ‘dare’. Rebecca has insisted in writing most part of the ‘dare’ options and hasn’t let Cabbage and me see what she has written”

You gulp when hearing Bartolomeo and look at Rebecca. The girl notices your stare and her reaction is to smile widely with satisfaction. Shit, what was that demon of a girl planned?! Well, you were going to discover it really soon.

Rebecca is one who initiated the game, mostly to show the rest how the game is played. She chooses ‘truth’ and you hold your breath, wondering what kind of question was written on the card.

“ _If you were a billionaire, what would you spend your time doing?_ ” _,_ Rebecca sighs exaggeratedly, “where do I start?”

You exhale a relieved sigh while everyone begins to laugh when Rebecca begins to rapidly enumerate all the things that she would do/buy. During the first rounds Bartolomeo’s warning rounds your head but when it’s Pica’s turn and his ‘dare’ consists of singing at the top of his lungs his favorite song you end  eventually forgetting about it, since you are busy laughing until almost cry.

Most part of the ‘dares’ that appear were ridiculous but not excessively embarrassing to make: Dellinger had to share his shirt with the person to his right (that resulted be _Sugar_ ) for the next 3 rounds, Lao G had to do 20 pushups (immediately Jora forced him to do just 2 despite his protests), Trafalgar had to prepare a sandwich with his eyes closed and then eat it (the eating part was omitted because of his hate for bread) and when it was your turn you theoretically had to walk on your hands from one side of the room to the other but you refused and accepted the penalty, that consisted of having the drink of the person of your left, a.k.a Bartolomeo, that resulted to be one of your less favorite drinks.

Finally, Diamante had to pretend to be a dog the next round, and Trebol made sure to choose truth the next round and to answer really slowly to prolong Diamante’s imitation. The rest of the family chose ‘truth’ and again the questions weren’t excessively intimate. For example, Corazon had to talk about how he met his actual boyfriend (you obviously were mentioned in that story) and Doflamingo had to tell a nickname that was called as a kid (he had always been called ‘Doffy’ so you didn’t learn anything embarrassing about him to take note of.

Baby 5 was the last one in choosing ‘truth’ and unfortunately her question was ‘ _What is your biggest fear in a relationship?_ ’, so as you were fearing the girl began to cry saying that she was never lucky in love matters you decided to make a little stop in the game. Besides, since you were a total of 20 people the whole round had taken more than hour, so you decided to eat a little more before coming back to the game.

 “Okay, I choose ‘dare’”

Corazon says when it’s his turn, and his eyes open wide before cursing.

“What does is say?”

Corazon sighs and reads aloud.

 “ _Arm wrestling with the person of your left. The one who wins will write something in the other person’s face_ ”, Corazon looks at Doflamingo, a.k.a the person on his left, “okay, you can begin to think what you are going to write in my face”

Everyone laughs when hearing Corazon’s defeated tone, and as the man had predicted Doflamingo is the one who ends winning their little match.

“Well, Corazon, you have lasted almost half-a-minute, you should be proud”

“Shut up and finish already”

At the end Doflamingo uses Corazon’s own lipsticks to write the word ‘weakling’ in bright red in his forehead while everyone ( _Law_ included) makes sure to use their mobiles to immortalize the moment.

“Hey, Cora-san, you could use this a new profile photo”

Corazon glares at Law but when the man winks at him playfully Corazon ends smiling with resignation.

 “Alright, my turn”, Doflamingo chooses ‘truth’ and after reading the card he chuckles, “well, this is easy: _how many times have you been married?_ None”

You convince yourself that you are feeling happy because you finally have your answer to that question, not for any other motive.

The game continues with more ridiculous dares and not too embarrassing truths until Law’s turn arrives.

“Dare”, he says without hesitation while taking the card, “ _if you have tattoos on your body, show all of them_ ”

You don’t understand why Corazon begins to laugh while extracting his mobile and why Law blushes lightly, but then the doctor suddenly unbuttons his shirt to expose his chest and your mouth falls opened when seeing a heart shaped tattoo on his chest.

“Wow, how cool, man”, Bartolomeo says sincerely while you keep staring at the tattoo in disbelief.

“Hey, the I-want-to-be-a-surgeon excuse doesn’t explain this”, you say pointing at Law’s chest, causing the man to chuckle.

“Well, the card doesn’t say that I have to explain that”

You snort when hearing Law’s teasing answer. Well, another thing that you planned to discover.

“Okay, I choose ‘dare’ too”

You take the card without feeling the least concern.

But when reading it you freeze.

Damn, you should have remembered Bartolomeo’s warning.

“What does it say, (y/n)?”

Doflamingo seems to detect your tension from where he is sitting because he asks that with utter curiosity. You suppress a gulp, trying to decide is the better way of action was.

“I-It says…”, crap, you better speak with firmness, but how could you when your heart was beating so crazily, “ _sit in the birthday man’s lap until your next turn arrives_ ”

Corazon almost spits his drink, and thank goodness that the family begins to laugh because otherwise the tension would be unbearable.

“Sorry, (y/n)”, Bartolomeo mutters, “I think Rebecca wrote that”

This time, you see Rebecca purposely avoiding looking at you. Damn, at that moment you really want to kill Rebecca because you are sure that the girl has purposely written that card for you.

“(y/n), you can always refuse to do it and get the penalty”

You look at Doflamingo, but despite his words his smile was challenging. Yes, you could refuse to do the ‘dare’, but if you did that it would be as if you were giving it too much importance to the challenge and that wasn’t the impression that you wanted to give.

“No, it’s okay”

Despite your words your legs are trembling while standing up. There were just a couple of meters between Doflamingo and you but they seemed eternal. While you approach, Doflamingo changes his sitting position so that his legs were opened, giving you space to sit in between them.

When you are in front of the man you suppress another gulp. Doflamingo is now leaning one of his elbows on the arm of the chair and his chin over his hand. He is looking at you with curiosity, as if he was wondering if you were really able to do it, so you push away your nervousness the best you can and with all the determination you are able to gather in that situation you sit down on the chair.

You make sure to sit all in the border you can to avoid all possible contact with Doflamingo, but the chair wasn’t precisely too big so you inevitable feel the man’s worked chest and abs against your back. And shit, why the hell Doflamingo’s body was so warm? You could feel yourself beginning to be hot just for the warmth that Doflamingo’s big body emanated.

“I don’t mind if you lean against me, (y/n)”

“ _No, thank you._ I’m perfect like this”

You answer in a high-pitched tone that could rival Pica when feeling Doflamingo’s breath so close to your ear, so you can’t certainly blame the family when they begin to laugh. Oh god, you were _really_ going to kill Rebecca when the party was over.

“Ok, my turn: ‘dare’”, you internally thank Bartolomeo when the man re-initiates the game, “ _kiss the person who is in your left_ ”

You snap a hand against your mouth when realizing that the one who is on Bartolomeo’s left is no other that-

“WHAT?!”, okay, now Cavendis’s cry has surpassed yours, “okay, you better choose the penalty right now because there’s no way that-”

But what Cavendish was going to say is lost forever when without the least hesitation Bartolomeo grabs Cavendish’s face and plants a rude kiss on the guy’s lips. A loud murmur explodes then and even if you can see that Cavendish’s ears are extremely red he doesn’t any particular attempt to push the punk away.

After some seconds Bartolomeo lets Cavendish go. They keep staring at each other for some more seconds, as if they didn’t know very well what to say, and  then, suddenly, Cavendish hits Bartolomeo in the shoulder with force.

“You jerk, I _hate_ you!”

Everyone stares with surprise how Cavendish hurriedly stands up and disappears towards the back-shop, closing the door behind him with force.

Bartolomeo blinks, completely confused, before looking at you.

“What the hell? I’ve just done what the card says!”

“Well…I think that’s the problem”, Rebecca intervenes with a cautious smile, “maybe Cavendish hasn’t liked that you have kissed him _just_ because of what a card says”

Bartolomeo blinks again.

“What?”

You are about to facepalm.

“For goodness sake, Bartolomeo, go to speak with Cavendish already!”

“O-Okay, okay, I’m going!”

When hearing your impatient tone Bartolomeo rapidly stands up as well towards the back-shop. There is a brief silence and then Corazon looks at you.

“Okay, tell me that Bartolomeo is denser than me, please”

“No, he isn’t”

Everyone laughs when Law is the one who answers immediately, causing Corazon to ‘glare’ at his boyfriend.

“Mmm, I wonder, (y/n)…”

Doflamingo talks so close to you that the hair of the back of your neck stands up. You turn your body a little to be able to face him but that only causes your faces to be way closer than they should, so you decide to answer while facing forward.

“Y-Yes?”

“I’m just curious: if you would have gotten that card and would have been at my right”, you shiver when Doflamingo whispers the next sentence in your ear, “what would you have done?”

You gulp, but fortunately it doesn’t take you much to find a proper answer.

“Well, the card didn’t demand to kiss someone in the lips, so I suppose that blowing you a kiss would have been accepted as well”

There is a little pause and then, to your surprise, Doflamingo grunts a little frustrated.

“Definitely, catching you is getting more and more difficult”

You can’t help to chuckle, but before being able to answer back anything the game continues once again with Baby 5, who chooses (again) ‘dare’ and ends a little drunk when the card demands her to finish the rest of his drink in one go.

The game continues some more rounds and even if at first you were extremely tense, you eventually manage to relax a little more, and not to flinch too much every time that Doflamingo moves a little his body and accidentally his front rubs against your back.

However, when almost fifteen minutes have passed and your two idiot friends haven’t come back you begin to worry.

“I think I’m going to check on Cavendish and Bartolomeo”, you announce, standing up from Doflamingo’s chair, “just to make sure they are alright”

“Alright, but after that remember that you have to come back here”

You half-close your eyes at Doflamingo when the man signals his chair with a teasing grin.

“Yes, don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten it”, you reply with irony before going to the back-shop.

You knock a couple of times, softly, but when you wait and there is no answer you decide to slowly open the door and stick your head in.

You are about to call your friends’ names but no sound escapes your mouth because of the sight that welcomes you: Cavendish and Bartolomeo, wildly making out as if the world was going to end tomorrow.

Cavendish had been pinned against the wall and had his legs wrapped around Bartolomeo’s waist, his arms around the punk’s neck. They are kissing so passionately that you could see almost perfectly their tongues interlacing outside their mouths. At that moment Bartolomeo suddenly begins to eagerly rut against Cavendish and the both of them begin to exhale ragged moans of pleasure, so you decide that definitely you didn’t have to worry about them and hurriedly close the door with your cheeks red.

Damn, you called Corazon dense but you definitely should have guessed what why it was taking them so much to come back!

After your cheeks have regained their normal color you decide to come back to the shop entrance. The game has continued while you have been absent and now it was Viola’s turn to choose.

“Well, since everyone is choosing ‘dare’ in this round I will choose ‘truth’: ‘ _say who your first lover was_ ’”, Viola giggles and then, suddenly, she signals at Doflamingo, “well, this is easy: _him_ ”

You, who have been about to join the game again, stop in your tracks while feeling cold sweat invading your body when hearing Viola’s answer.

You think to have heard wrong but when seeing Rebecca with a hand against her mouth and her eyes open wide you deduce that no, you haven’t heard wrong: Viola has just said that Doflamingo and her had been _lovers_.

“Seriously?”, Corazon exclaims, looking alternatively at Viola and his brother, “b-but you never told me anything?”

“It was a long time ago”, Doflamingo looks at Viola, “eight years, right?”

Viola nods.

“Yes, we met in a party that was held in your company. At that moment I was working just for the Police Department but we met and…well”, Viola smiles playfully, “we connected”

“Ahahahaha! Oh, you surely did”, Jora intervenes suddenly, “I remember that you spent some months being really affectionate”

You feel your heart clench inside your chest when hearing that. And the fact that you have just seen Cavendish and Bartolomeo in such an intimate way just caused your imagination to picture more easily Doflamingo and Viola being as passionate. And damn, what did that _hurt_?

“Yes, you were always kissing, puaj”

“It wasn’t that bad, Sugar”, Viola protests, “well, obviously we kissed sometimes but that’s al-”

“(y/n), are you alright?!”

You freeze when suddenly Baby 5 practically shouts that, and even if you knew that the girl hadn’t done it on purpose at that moment you would have really killed her.

“Oh, I haven’t realized you were here”, Viola says suddenly with an honest apologetic tone, as if she was regretting having talked too much.

You think rapidly in something to say but damn, you feel that a lump is about to form in your throat and you were afraid that in case of trying to answer with irony, it was going to be horribly evident that you were just faking it.

 “Y-Yeah, I’m fine, Baby 5, I’m just feeling a little weird. Maybe it has been Bartolomeo’s drink fault so I’m going to the restroom to see if…umh…I get better so keep playing without me”

While talking, Doflamingo has turned around in his chair to look at you but you don’t dare to look at him ever once and after speaking you disappear rapidly. However, instead of going to the restroom as you have said you’d do, you enter the office and close the door behind it.

You take a deep breath before shaking your head brusquely, trying to stop your stupid eyes from watering. Damn, what the hell was wrong with you? Why were you now feeling about to cry? You didn’t have the least motive for it!

You exhale a long sigh. You just needed a couple of minutes to calm down and then you could come back to the party to…

“I think this is not the restroom”

You freeze when hearing that voice behind you.

Damn, you have been really naïve thinking that Doflamingo wasn’t going to notice that there was something stupidly wrong with you and that he was going to do something about it.

“Why are you hiding here, (y/n)?”, Doflamingo is talking to you from the door of the office but you don’t dare to face him yet, “have you just got tired of the game? That’s a pity. Right now it was just getting interesting”

Doflamingo’s comment causes Viola’s words to appear on your head again:

 _‘Say who your first lover was._ Well, this is easy: him _’_

You gulp when the unpleasant feeling in your stomach grows even more, and the fact that Doflamingo has just spoken with a completely casual mocking tone while you were feeling like shit causes you to be about to snap something rude that you will surely regret.  However, you manage to keep your cool and answer with an acceptably neutral voice.

“No, I was just not feeling very well and I was going to get an aspirin. I think that I have one in my bag so I’ve come here to get i-”

Your heart stops when you feel Doflamingo’s body behind you. The man has silently approached you while you were thinking in a proper excuse and now you didn’t have any place to run away.

“(y/n), you already know what I think about lies”

You feel goosebumps in your body when Doflamingo whispers those words just in your ear before making you turn around to be finally facing him, and even if he had his new glasses on, you can perfectly feel his penetrating stare through his colored lenses.

“I’ll give you another chance to answer, (y/n). Why have you abandoned the game?”

You know that Doflamingo would never do any harm to a member of his family, and that therefore he would never hurt you, but that knowledge doesn’t stop you from feeling a little of apprehension when detecting some impatience in Doflamingo’s serious voice.

“As I’ve said, I was just not feeling very well”, you say, choosing carefully your words to avoid lying, “so I was just wanted to be alone for a while to recover”

Doflamingo hums to himself.

“Well, if you are feeling sick you should ask Trafalgar to check on you, don’t you think?”

The sarcasm was evident on Doflamingo’s words but you decide to pretend not having detected it and take them literally. Maybe that way you could put an end to that nerve-wrecking conversation once and for all before it turned too awkward.

“No, it won’t be necessary. In fact, maybe a little of fresh air is all I need to feel better so-”

Doflamingo surprises you by snickering to himself.

“I think that I’ve underestimated your stubbornness, (y/n), so since you are not willing to talk I’ll be the one in doing it”, Doflamingo crosses his arms in front of his chest before talking next, “young lady, could it be that you were jealous of Viola?”

You freeze again. You weren’t expecting that Doflamingo was so horribly straightforward and consequently his sudden question catches you completely off guard.

“What?!”, you insult yourself for your ridiculous high-pitched cry, “m-me? _Jealous_?”, you try to laugh with incredulity but you end doing with evident nervousness, “of course I’m not jealous! Why should I be jealous of her?”

You barely have time to realize that you have said the word ‘jealous’ three times before Doflamingo speaks as if you hadn’t talked in the least.

“Well, the moment you have learnt that Viola and I were together you have ran away to hide here and cry, even if that is something that belongs just to the past”

You blush intensely.

“I’m not crying. I just-”

Again, Doflamingo continues without listening to you.

“But the most interesting thing is that even if Corazon and his doctor have been flirting all night long, you have barely blinked. In fact, you haven’t even looked bothered in the least. So tell me, (y/n)”, Doflamingo leans over you until you are forced to raise your face to be looking at him, “do you have an explanation that justifies why you don’t care if Corazon is _right now_ with someone else but you do when knowing that I _was_?”

You try to answer but your throat is stupidly tight, causing that speaking was out of the question.

Shit, you couldn’t find a proper excuse, because there wasn’t any excuse to give. What Doflamingo had said was completely true. Your behavior right now didn’t have any sense at all unless you finally admitted _that_ to yourself, but you couldn’t do that!

Your heart had been already broken by Corazon, you didn’t want it to break a second time because of Doflamingo as well, so you weren’t going to admit anything until being sure that you weren’t the only one in-

“Young lady, it’s true that I don’t dislike one bit this game of cat and mouse that you and I are sharing. In fact, I enjoy it thoroughly. But maybe it’s time to put an end to it. I think that my interest for you is more than clear by now, so…”

You feel a shiver run down your spine when Doflamingo whispers the next sentence in your ear.

“…(y/n), don’t you think it’s time already to confess that you are _also_ in love with me?”

At that moment Doflamingo approaches his face to yours and the words that you may have been able to form die definitely in the process when you feel his breathing against you mouth, his lips ghosting against your own without actually touching.

Your heart is about to leave your chest by then, a knot of anticipation appearing in the pit of your stomach, and you realize at that moment that you are looking forward to what is about to happen. That you really want Doflamingo to put an end to the frustrating distance that now exists between you two.

You find your mouth half-opening on its own, as if you were automatically giving Doflamingo permission to continue, as if you were finally surrendering to the fact that you wanted this to happen.

The closeness allows you to feel Doflamingo’s smirk against your embarrassingly waiting mouth, and when the man leans even more against you and your noses brush lightly, your accelerated heart stops for a moment.

“So?”, you almost feel Doflamingo’s lips moving against yours for how close he is, “what is your answer, (y/n)?”

Your heart beats again hysterically against your chest, but now you can feel relief invading you and all your previous reservations about admitting your feelings for Doflamingo _finally_ disappear at once. Because maybe Doflamingo hadn’t used the typical words that you would expect to hear when someone is declaring to you, but that simple ‘ _also_ ’ that he had used before was all the confirmation you needed to know that, this time, your heart wasn’t going to be broken, and therefore there wasn’t the least hesitation in what your answer was going to be.

With an almost rude movement you lean forward with the intention of kissing Doflamingo, but the moment the man detects your positive reaction he is the one who successfully ends capturing your mouth.

Your stomach clenches almost painfully with the mere contact of Doflamingo’s lips moving against your own, unhurriedly during the first seconds but almost immediately you feel Doflamingo’s tongue teasingly tracing your bottom lip, coaxing you to open more your mouth for him. You immediately obey his silent command, anticipation invading your whole trembling body, and when his wet muscle joins yours the heavy heat that had previously settled in your stomach travels even lower.

You exhale a soft whine when Doflamingo tilts his head a little to the side to keep kissing you properly, and that sound evokes a low satisfied grunt out of the man that goes directly to your core.

Doflamingo settles then a hand on the back of your head to prevent you to strain your neck too much while kissing back. You are about to settle one of your hands on his chest but you stop midway when remembering that his skin was exposed. Doflamingo seems to notice your hesitation because you feel him smirking against your lips before using his free hand to make you finally settle yours over his bare chest.

A wave of arousal hits you when feeling the warm and hard muscle under your palm and another involuntary moan escapes from your mouth. Again, Doflamingo seems to react to your sound because with another grunt he places his hand on the small of your back to force your body flushed against his. He pulls sensually at your bottom lip before kissing you again, even more passionately than before.

From then on you give up in trying to take control of the kiss even a little and decide to enjoy how Doflamingo ravages your mouth as he pleases. You had never been kissed in such a way before, never had felt so aroused in all your life, and with just a little of embarrassment you can’t help to think that if you were feeling so good just for being kissed by Doflamingo, you were dying to discover how it would be to do _much more_ with that man.

At that moment Doflamingo stops kissing you just to divert his mouth to the side of your neck. He rolls his long tongue over the sensitive skin, causing you to lose again the little air that you have been able to gather after having been kissed in such a breathtaking way.  You grab Doflamingo’s shoulder with your free hand but don’t stop his actions. In fact, you tilt more your head so that he had better access to your neck.

Doflamingo chuckles softly, pleased with your willingness. He kisses your neck once, the feathery contact making you shiver once again, and then…

_BANG!_

Doflamingo and you immediately divert your attention towards the place of the noise, that resulted to be the door of the office, and your mouth falls fully opened in mortification when seeing Bartolomeo in a rather disheveled state standing there, looking at you two with a shocked expression on his face.

“O-Oh, shit, sorry”, Bartolomeo apologizes hurriedly, “h-have I interrupted something?”

Doflamingo, obviously annoyed, draws himself up to his full height again while glaring at Bartolomeo.

“I don’t know, kid. What do you think?”

Doflamingo’s sarcastic comment causes Bartolomeo to gulp with nervousness so you immediately intervene, clearing your throat rapidly before talking since you were almost without air because of Doflamingo.

“We will be out in a moment, Barto, so can you wait to…umh…do whatever you were going to do here?”

After recovering for the surprise Bartolomeo waves his hand dismissively.

“It’s okay. I was just looking for a better place to make out with Cavendish but I see this place is taken so I’ll leave. Have fun!”

You are about to face-palm when Bartolomeo abandons the room while directing a thumb up gesture in your direction. You exhale a resigned sigh when your friend disappears, leaving Doflamingo and you alone once again.

“Okay, goodbye to keep this in secret”

Doflamingo snickers with amusement before looking at you again.

“Oh? Does that mean that you didn’t want the rest to know that you are _mine_ now?”

You half-close your eyes at Doflamingo when the man obviously says that to provoke you.

“No, but I preferred to be the one in announcing that _you_ are _mine_ now”

 Doflamingo begins to laugh when hearing your ironic reply before kissing you in the forehead, the unexpected intimate gesture making you incredibly happy.

“Oh, (y/n), I’m so glad that you have finally stopped playing hard to get”

“Hey, don’t say it like that! It makes it sound as if I am easy! Besides, I wasn’t playing hard to get: I was just not sure about-”

“Mm? About…?”

You blush when Doflamingo grins at you teasingly, but you decide that now that you were together you definitely weren’t going to be flustered so easily by him. Or at least, you’d try that with all your forces.

“About being in love with you”

Satisfaction invades you when your answer makes Doflamingo’s expression turn slightly surprised, as if he hadn’t been expected you to be able to say that. However, your triumphant smile just lasts a moment because then Doflamingo kisses you once again and the only thing you are able to do is to melt into the kiss while enclosing your arms around his broad back. Damn, who was going to tell you that you were going to end falling so hard for the man you hated so much at first?

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear”, Doflamingo purrs when you separate, causing you to smile a little breathless.

“I’m sure you knew from the start what my answer was going to be”

Doflamingo’s grin intensifies.

“Yes, but it’s still nice to hear you say it aloud”

You roll your eyes with resignation, causing Doflamingo to laugh in his characteristic way.

“By the way, you realize that you could stop working for me, right?”, Doflamingo comments casually, “after all I can’t threaten you with telling my brother about your feelings anymore”

You chuckle.

“Still, I’d prefer you to keep the secret. I have the feeling that Corazon would feel incredibly guilty in case of discovering that he was my unrequited crush for two years” 

Doflamingo laughs again.

“Yes, he’d definitely take the blame. He’d probably cry even, my little brother is too emotional. But…”, Doflamingo grabs your chin between his long fingers, “…you haven’t told me yet if you want to keep working for me or not”

“Mmm”, you pretend to think, “it depends: do you think it would be ethic that the boss of the company is with one of his subordinates?”

“Well, since I am the boss of the company I don’t think anyone dares to question the ethic of it. Besides, the family is already occupying the best positions and no one had ever protested”

You exhale a chuckle.

“You have a point there. Okay then: I’ll keep working for you _but_ promise me that next time you won’t pay me the monstrosity you have paid me this month”

“Fufufu~. Well, at least I can be sure that you don’t want me for my money”

You chuckle again and are about to playfully insult him for suggesting such a stupid thing when the door of the office suddenly snaps opened _again_ , causing Doflamingo to grunt in annoyance.

“Kid, are you willing to die that muc-?”

However this time it wasn’t Bartolomeo the one who had interrupted you both.

Or better said, it was not _just_ Bartolomeo but the entire Donquixote Family plus Rebecca plus Cavendish plus Law plus _Corazon_ the ones who had decided to visit the office without knocking, and now were looking at you two with astonishment.

“I-I can explain this, (y/n)”, Bartolomeo says hurriedly, “I promise that I just told Cavendish, I swear!”

“Yes, Barto is right”, Cavendish intervenes to defend his now boyfriend, “he was just telling me but we didn’t realize that Rebecca was close and she heard us and-”

 “I KNEW IT!”, Rebecca practically yelled with a triumphant smile, “I knew you liked him even if you didn’t want to admit it!”

“(y/n), why didn’t you tell me anything?!”, your eyes open wide when Corazon looks at you with a really offended expression on his face, “I knew that Doffy was interested in you but I didn’t know you also liked him! If you had told me I would have helped you the same way you did with Law and me!”

“Well, Cora-san, it seems that she hadn’t needed your help after all”, Law intervenes with a conciliatory tone while Corazon crosses his arms in a sulking way.

“Behehehehe! Diamante, you have to pay again: I told you that this was going to happen”

“Tsk, I don’t know why the hell I keep betting against you”

“But young master, if you wanted to be alone with (y/n) you just had to ask instead of hiding here!”

“Jora, a hidden secret romance in an office is something really hard-boiled that women adore”

“But it’s not a secret romance if we all know about it!”

 “I agree with Pica. Besides, a proper romance is not as such if there isn’t a finale explosion in the background while the hero runs away with the girl”

“I think that someone is obsessed with bombs, iiin…”

“Wait, Su-G-ar, why are you pointing your G-rapes at (y/n) and the youn-G Master?”

“Because they are together and Viola told me that people throws grapes at people when they are together”

“No, sweetie: I said it’s a tradition to throw rice when people get married, but Doffy and (y/n) aren’t married _yet_ ”

“Kyahahaha! Sugar is such an idio-HEY! _Don’t throw your stinky grapes at my heels_!!”

“(y/n), Doffy, does this mean that now that you are together you don’t need me anymore?!”

“Baby 5, I think you have drunk too much already-”

“SHUT UP, BUFFALO!! I’M JUST SAD BECAUSE (Y/N) AND DOFFY DON’T NEED ME ANYMORE!!!”

You stare in disbelief at the family’s reactions before looking at Doflamingo out of the corner of your eye. You see the man exhaling a resigned though amused sigh, and despite the light embarrassment that you are feeling for being the center of attention you can’t help to laugh.

Definitely, having Doflamingo as a boyfriend was going to be something incredibly funny to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeell, hope the wait has been worth it ^^  
>  **Spoiler of the next chapter** : Your first day of work while being together with Doffy and the visit of certain police that is annoying Doffy really much ;)


	12. The Inspector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s your first day at work after finally being together with Doflamingo. You receive a visit of certain inspector who wants to have certain words with you.

At the end it had taken the Family and your friends almost ten minutes to calm down after learning that Doflamingo and you were together, but after assimilating the news the interrogating time began. In fact, Rebecca practically cornered Doflamingo to get the details that she knew you were going to avoid telling her about your extremely recent established relationship, and since both of them were talking way too animatedly about things that were going to embarrass you for sure you decide to approach Corazon, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest and whose sulking expression accentuates when you approach him with an apologetic smile.

“I should fire you for not telling me”

Your laughter definitely doesn’t make Corazon stop sulking but just the contrary, but damn it, you couldn’t help it. Seeing a 1.93 man like him moping like a little kid was just too cute and funny not to laugh.

“Look, Corazon, I promise you that until tonight I wasn’t sure about liking your brother, I swear!”

Corazon looks at you suspiciously but fortunately at that moment Law comes to your rescue.

“(y/n)-ya is saying the truth, Cora-san. Just a couple of hours ago she has told me, and I quote: ‘ _I’m not interested in any Donquixote’_ ”, Law smirks mischievously at you, “so it seems that someone was in a deep denial phase”

You think for some seconds in an equally ironic reply but since the doctor’s words couldn’t be more certain you end sticking out your tongue at him. Your extremely mature action makes the two men laugh.

“Okay, (y/n), I believe, _but_ …”, Corazon points at you with an accusatory finger, “…you better tell me how exactly you two ended together”

You hum to yourself and smile at him teasingly.

“Or would you fire me?”

“No, he’ll simply begin to sulk again, so please, (y/n)-ya, be good and tell him”

You can’t help to laugh again when Corazon blushes after hearing Law’s words. Corazon glares at his boyfriend, who simply smiles before approaching him to kiss him. Corazon initially refuses to bow his head to meet Law’s lips, but when the man tenderly places a quick peck on his cheek conciliatorily Corazon accepts Law next kiss with a resigned smile.

You are smiling while looking at the cute pair when suddenly a now familiar couple of strong arms close around you from behind.

“Fufufu~. Is this a competition to know who Donquixote kisses his partner better? Because in that case I’m in”

You automatically tilt your head to look at Doflamingo when the man begins to talk, and that allows him to capture your mouth at the end of his sentence before you can be prepared for it. Your eyes close on its own while accepting Doflamingo’s kiss, your hands settling over Doflamingo’s ones. You knew that everyone is looking at you two right now, maybe someone (Becca probably) was even taking photos, but surprisingly that fact doesn’t bother you at all and the only thing you care about at that moment is to kiss Doflamingo back with all you’ve got. Damn, you really hope to get used to this new whole situation soon or your heart is going to end leaving your chest for real. It was not normal that it beat so frenetically just for a relatively innocent kiss…

“Okay, Doffy: I let you win but just because it’s your birthday”

Corazon’s purposely indulgent comment makes you begin to laugh during the kiss and Doflamingo to look at his teasing brother with clear skepticism.

After the Donquixote brothers kept teasing each other a little more, everyone decided that even if it was a pity it was time to put an end to the party, since it was Sunday and the next day everyone had to work. You, your friends and the whole Family (reluctantly) changed clothes again and helped Corazon with the cleaning of the shop, and since you were so many people in practically fifteen minutes there was no sign of the party that had just been celebrated.

Bartolomeo apologized to you once again for having interrupted your ‘sexy time’ as he called it before leaving together with Cavendish towards the direction of the punk’s apartment, probably to continue what they had been doing in the backshop, you think with amusement. After closing the shop, Corazon announced that he was going to accompany Law home, so after saying goodbye to everyone both men left together towards the doctor’s apartment.

Rebecca and you planned to go home on foot since you were really close but Doflamingo insisted that Lao G would carry you there.

“Look, you are the ones who are most far away”, you try to reason, “and it just takes us five minutes to go there so-”

“Perfect then. That way Lao G will be here really soon to take us back”

After Doflamingo manages to counter all your arguments you realize that it was useless trying to win this battle with him, so you end accepting his offer a little against your will. You see Rebecca approaching Viola to hug her and hesitate, not knowing very well how to proceed with the farewell. Fortunately, Doflamingo wasn’t the kind of man in showing hesitation in any situation, so with perfect naturalness he encloses one arm around your waist and settles his other hand on the back of your neck to kiss you senseless, leaving you practically out of breath.

“ _Yuck_ ”

Viola shushes Sugar to remain quiet but you can’t hold back the laughter when hearing the disgust in the little girl’s voice. Doflamingo lets out a soft resigned sigh.

“I really love the Family but sometimes…”

You chuckle again when Doflamingo doesn’t complete the sentence.

You look out of the corner of your eye that Viola is entertaining Sugar so that she isn’t looking at Doflamingo and you anymore. You are about to joke saying something like ‘ _Hurry! She isn’t looking!_ ’, but Doflamingo was paying attention as well because he kisses you again.

“This week you are out in a trip, right?”, you ask when you separate. Or better said, when Doflamingo lets you go.

“Yes, I’ll be out until the next Saturday”, Doflamingo smirks, “would you like to accompany me? We are going to reunite with some potential clients so that they hire our services, and your impressive way of explaining how our infrastructure works would surely convince them”

You are about to roll your eyes when hearing Doflamingo’s comment but then you realize that he isn’t joking.

“Thanks for the offer but I have a reaaaally funny week full of project deadlines”, you say with resignation before adopting a playful tone, “but count me on for the next trip to seduce your potential customs with my words”

Doflamingo snickers.

“Well, as long as you just seduce them with words I won’t complain too much”

You are gathering the courage to say that you didn’t have the least intention on seducing anyone else than him when you see that Rebecca has just stopped talking with Viola and is waiting for you patiently.

“I should get going. Good luck with your reunion”

This time you don’t hesitate and stand on your tiptoes to kiss Doflamingo. Your attempt of innocent kiss is effectively destroyed when his tongue subtly sneaks inside your mouth, causing the hair on the back of your head to stand.

“Good luck with your projects. And by the way, I guess that it goes without saying but you are more than welcome to live in my manor from now on, (y/n). In fact, Rebecca could also come as well, since she is part of the family because of her relation with Viola. There are several available rooms for you two. And of course…”, Doflamingo whispers the next sentence so that you were the only one in hearing it, “…you are more than invited to share my private room”

You feel a shiver travel down your spine when hearing Doflamingo’s more than suggestive proposal. You gulp subtly before answering with irony, so that your nervousness was not as palpable.

“Oh, so you want to verify if we really fit in your king size bed without touching each other?”

You know immediately that you should have thought better your words when seeing the way Doflamingo smirks.

“Well, I would not mind at all to verify that as long as we remove the ‘no touching’ part’”

This time, you can’t help to blush while exhaling a nervous laugh when a not precisely image of Doflamingo and you sharing his bed appears in your mind.

“I’ll think about it”, you see Doflamingo’s smirk increase and you correct your words hurriedly, “I-I mean that I’ll think moving to your manor, not that I’ll think about touching in your bed…”

You close your eyes with mortification when hearing your own unfortunate words while Doflamingo bursts out laughing.

“That has sounded as bad as I think it has sounded, right?”

“Fufufu, just the contrary, (y/n). The image that you have made appear in my head is extremely sexy~”

You hit Doflamingo in his chest but that only makes him laugh even harder.

“Okay, now I’m leaving for real”, you announce, red as a tomato but with a smile in your face.

Doflamingo nods and kisses you on the cheek, causing you to end a little redder. You say goodbye to the rest of the family while waving your hand before finally entering the limousine after Rebecca.

“So…when are we moving to your boyfriend’s manor?”

You stare at Rebecca in disbelief when the girl asks you that with a wide enthusiastic smile.

“How the hell have you heard that?”

“Oh, you have _no idea_ how sharp my ear is when I want to gossip”

“…So you have also heard…”

“…that he has proposed you to share his room? Yep. I have”

“Great…”

“And I think that you are an idiot for not having accepted”

“Becca, it’s not been even _an_ _hour_ since we are together!”

“And?”

“Well, don’t you think is a little soon to thing about…? Well, _you know what I mean_ ”

“Oh, come on, it’s evident that you both want it. Your sexual tension during the party was super evident, I think even that poor little girl has noticed it. It’s more: I bet that in less of a month you two end testing the resistance of his king size bed”

“ _Ssssh_ ”, you hiss bright red, signaling with your eyes at Lao G, “don’t speak so loud!”

“Do not worry, ladies”, the old man suddenly says, “what it is said in this car, remains in this car, so I will not say the Youn-G Master that Miss (y/n) is willin-G to initiate a more physical relationship with him”

“ _I have not said anything like that_! Becca has!”

“See, (y/n)?! You can lie to yourself but we all know what you really want”

You cover your face with both hands while groaning in frustration, which causes Rebecca to laugh.

“One day I will really kill you”

“Nope, you won’t. Besides, if it wasn’t for me and my little ‘truth and dare’ game you wouldn’t be together now”

Against your will, you have to agree with the girl.

“Okay, you’re right”, you admit, smiling at her, “although I think that the ‘ _sit in the birthday man lap_ ’ dare wasn’t necessary”

“Oh, please, don’t you _dare_ to tell me that you didn’t like to feel that man’s hot body against you because I won’t believe you. In fact, I wouldn’t have minded to have chosen that card”

“Well, it didn’t come to your mind that one of the guys could have received that card as well?”

“…No, the truth is that I didn’t. But it would have been really funny to see Bartolomeo sitting in Doflamingo’s lap”

“Oh god, no”

“Or Pica”

“Becca…”

“Or my aunt”, Rebecca smiles mischievously at you when you glare at her, “I’m pretty sure that in that case you would have ended together even sooner in the game”

“I a-G-ree too”

Your mouth falls opened when Lao G intervenes. You can’t help to join Rebecca in her outburst of laughter and you don’t calm down until arriving home.

* * *

The same as always, the next day you go work in Corazon’s shop. As you were expecting the moment you enter the shop not just the younger Donquixote but also Bartolomeo and Cavendish assaulted you with all questions they hadn’t been able to make you during the party. Fortunately, you manage to divert the subject easily when pointing at a clear lovebite that was adorning Cavendish’s pale neck, and that the man hurriedly tried to hide without any success.

After spending a rather entertaining afternoon full of gossip and teasing with Corazon and your coworkers you arrive home to discover that the deadline of one of the multiple projects that you had to do was way closer than you remembered. You spend the rest of the night trying to finish it and by when you finally are more or less satisfied with the result it is past midnight, meaning that it was already Doflamingo’s birthday.

Since 0.43 a.m. was a little unearthly hour to call someone you decide to send Doflamingo a message.  You spend almost five minutes wondering what you should tell him, but at the end you decide to write what it comes to your mind instead of worrying too much. You were now together after all, so you shouldn’t feel shy anymore.

[ ** _Happy Birthday for real this time! Hope your reunions go well and you don’t have to kill anyone in your 41 birthday <3  :D_**]

After pressing the ‘Send’ button you stand up from your desk and are about to change into your pajama when suddenly your mobile begins to sound. You don’t need to read the name on the screen to know who it was.

“Yes?”, you answer with a smile.

“ _(y/n), why are you still awake? Shouldn’t you be sleeping since you have a reaaally busy week? Or was that a lie not to come with me?_ ”

You roll your eyes when hearing Doflamingo’s teasing comment.

“Precisely because I have a busy week I’ve had to be working until now”, your use your best casual tone before talking next, “besides, don’t you have reunions during all the week? You should be sleeping too. Or was that a lie and you have gone to celebrate your birthday without me?”

Doflamingo snickers at the other side of the line.

“ _(y/n), you don’t know how sexy you sound while using my own words against me_ ”, you blush lightly when detecting a hint of hunger on Doflamingo’s voice before continuing, “ _and thanks for the message. It has been a rather nice surprise_ ”

A probably stupid happy smile appears in your face when hearing Doflamingo’s contented tone.

“You’re welcome”, you say cheerily before a yawn was about to escape your mouth. You try to muffle it but Doflamingo seems to have detected it because he chuckles.

“ _I think you should really rest, (y/n). Besides, remember that good girls go to bed soon_ ”

You automatically half-close your eyes before realizing the stupidity of the action because Doflamingo couldn’t see you.

“Yes, and 41 old men should do the same, since they are not so young already to be awake until late”

You can practically see Doflamingo’s grin when speaking next.

“ _Oh, (y/n), I’m going to remember what you’ve just said. And someday_ ”, Doflamingo’s tone becomes lower, “ _I will prove you how able this old man is to keep you awake_ all night long”

You can perfectly picture the way Doflamingo licks his bottom lip after saying that and a powerful heat settles in your lower half when catching the obvious sexual implications on Doflamingo’s words.

“Good luck with that. I’m really sleepyhead”, you manage to answer with irony even if you throat feels extremely dry, but your nervousness had to be really evident because Doflamingo bursts out laughing when hearing you.

“ _I’m never going to get tired of your lovely replies_ ”, Doflamingo’s tone then changes, losing its typical mocking accent, “ _good night, (y/n). Have a nice rest_ ”

You gulp. Crap, again Doflamingo’s words haven’t been specially romantic or anything, but that surprisingly gentle tone that he had used and that you had _never_ heard him use with anyone else than you made your heart flutter.

“Y-You too”, you say after clearing your throat, “rest well, Doffy”

There is a little pause after you speak, and you realize then that it’s the first time that you call Doflamingo by that name.

After some seconds Doflamingo lets out a short chuckle before talking with a clearly satisfied voice.

“ _It was time already that you began to call me that way_ ”

You laugh when hearing his patient tone.

“Okay, maybe we should go to sleep already before this develops in a ‘hang-up’ situation”

“ _You are right. But you hang up first, (y/n)_ ”

You roll your eyes while laughing when Doflamingo adds the last line with a purposely overly sweet tone that doesn’t go with him at all.

“Idiot”, you snap, still laughing, “Come on, I’m going to sleep already”

After finally saying farewell (this time for real) you hang up with a smile in your face. You put your pajama on, enter the bed and are about to turn the lights off when suddenly Rebecca’s voice sound at the other side of the wall.

“Oooh, you even do the ‘hang-up’ thing. How cute ♥!”

You exclaim a loud embarrassed ‘ _Becca!_ ’ that just causes the girl to laugh. At the end, you end falling asleep way later than you had anticipated.

* * *

The next morning you have a presentation of one of your partial projects in the University, and even if you are a little nervous because you haven’t had as much time as you’d have liked to prepare it, it ends going way better than you had expected and the teacher even congratulate you for it.

Therefore, that afternoon you go to the company in really animated mood. You greet Jora with a wide smile that still accompanies you when entering your office.

“Good afternoon”, you greet Baby 5 and Buffalo. The first one greets you back but Baby 5 just grunts, surprising you, “hey, are you alright?”

“Ignore her”, Buffalo says with a resigned tone, “she is just an idiot”

Baby 5 throws a pen to Buffalo but the man easily avoids him. You are confused for a moment but then you remember something that Baby 5 said during the party.

“Baby 5, even if Doflamingo and I are together now I still need you, you know?”

Baby 5 open her eyes wide and almost strains her neck while looking at you.

“Are you telling the truth?”

You nod eagerly when hearing her hesitant tone.

“Of course! Without your help I couldn’t do my job here so easily, so don’t be sa- _HUFF_!”

Without warning Baby 5 has stood up from her chair and has practically jumped on you to hug you with arms and legs as if she was a koala.

“See, Buffalo?! See?! (y/n) is still needs me!!”

Buffalo exhales a sigh while you fight not to fall into the ground because of Baby 5 effusiveness.

“You spoil her too much, (y/n)”

You offer Buffalo a helpless smile before finally convincing Baby to set you free. You have just sat in your chair and are about to turn your computer on when the phone of your desk begins to sound. You see that the call comes from the reception.

“Yes, Jora?”, you ask with surprise, since not even five minutes have passed since you have arrived at the company.

 _“(y/n), inspector Smoker has just arrived at the company and requires to speak to you_ ”

You feel your heart stop, your bright mood disappearing at once, because that Smoker was the man that Doflamingo had mentioned several times and not precisely in a good way. If you remembered correctly, inspector Smoker was one of the causes for which Doflamingo had momentarily abandoned his company in Dressrosa, and was the one who had decided to perform the inspection a month ago.

And that man wanted to talk to _you_? Okay, no matter how you looked at it that couldn’t be good.

“With me? Why?”

Even if Jora’s tone kept being calm and polite, it was evident that she wasn’t happy in the least.

“ _He doesn’t want to say it, but he insists that he wants to speak to you alone_ ”

You gulp. If Doflamingo was here he could maybe dismiss Smoker’s petition, but the inspector had chosen precisely this day to come to visit, so you couldn’t refuse. Besides, you still didn’t know why the man wanted to talk to you. Maybe it was for something that had nothing to do with the company, although you seriously doubt it.

“Alright, tell him that I will be there in five minutes”

Jora hangs up and you let out a long breath before hurriedly standing up.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”, Baby 5 asks, and you realize then that she and Buffalo have been looking at you with concern since the conversation with Jora began.

“Inspector Smoker is here. He wants to talk with me”

Buffalo and Baby 5 get pale.

“What?!”, Baby 5 exclaims, “b-but what’s Smoker doing here?! I thought that he was in Dressrosa, when has he come to this town?! And why hasn’t Viola warned us?!”

“Remember that Viola commented the other day that she thought that Smoker was beginning to suspect her. I’m sure he didn’t announce that he was in the city on purpose”

Baby 5 curses with frustration when hearing Buffalo’s reasoning.

“And does he want to speak to you?! Why?!”

You shrug with impotence when Baby 5 asks you that almost hysterically.

“I don’t know, but if Jora has told me to speak with him is because there is no other option. I’m going to see Trebol, Diamante and Pica first. There is something that I want to ask them”

You practically run acroos the corridor to reach the Executive’s office. You are about to knock when the door opens and Trebol appears in front of you.

“Jora has just called, neeee. So that Smokey bastard is here, neeee?!”

“Yes, it seems so”, you see Diamante and Pica in the room as well, with expressions that show as much disgust as Trebol’s one, “I have a question. What do I say if he asks me about my relation with Doflamingo?”

Diamante, Trebol and Pica interchange a glance and after some seconds Diamante answers.

“For now, I think it’s better if he doesn’t know that Doffy and you are together. We haven’t left everything completely tied up in the company yet, and until that happens it’s better if he thinks that you aren’t too involved with us”

You gulp and nod.

“Okay”, you offer them a smile, “then I will talk trash about you all so that he doesn’t suspect me”

Despite the obvious tense situation, your comment causes the men to laugh and relax slightly.

“If you have any problem with that man just call and we’ll come to your help”

You chuckle when hearing Pica’s loud voice sounding so menacing.

“Don’t worry, everything will go fine”

‘ _At least, I hope so_ ’, you think with nervousness while leaving the Executives’ office to go to the the elevator. You take long deep breaths during the ride down, focusing on calming down.

If you think about it carefully, you didn’t even have to lie when answering the inspector’s questions. You are just a Computer Engineer that is working part-time in a big company, and the fact that you work there doesn’t mean that you have to know that the boss of that company is involved in deals of dubious legality or anything like that. And about your implication in purposely hiding the data base of clients, you have just done a migration of data as you’ve been told. Nothing more and nothing less. So there is absolutely no reason to panic.

However, despite your own arguments you can almost hear your own heart beating when the elevator stops and its door open, revealing the reception, Jora, and the man you deduced was Smoker.

The inspector was a 1,85 attractive man with white hair that had to round the forties already. There was a scar that crossed his right eye and his clothes couldn’t suit his profession more: a long gabardine coat over a grey fitted shirt and a pair of black trousers, and you were pretty sure that if you hadn’t got more or less used to Doflamingo’s imposing presence, Smoker would have probably intimidated you a little.

Yet, when you approach the reception table and Smoker fix his brown eyes on you with curious interest you discover that maybe you had underestimated the inspector a little, because his intense gaze was definitely unsettling. But hey, you had managed to endure (more or less) Doflamingo’s direct stare, so there was no way that you couldn’t do that with this man.

“Inspector Smoker?”, you approach the man to offer him a hand, “I’m (y/n), one of the Computer Engineers of this company. Jora has told me that you want to talk with me”

You don’t know who is more impressed: if Jora or you when you manage to say all that with a perfectly calm tone that doesn’t match the way your heart is beating. However, even if Smoker looks somewhat impressed for your composure, he keeps his gaze on you as if he was searching for an opening in your apparently imperturbable attitude. Crap, he better not search too much. You weren’t sure if you were going to be able to keep that apparent calm much longer.

“Yes”, Smoker accepts your hand and shakes it firmly, “I’m sorry to interrupt your work but there is something that I want to discuss with you. I promise that I won’t borrow much of your time”

Jora clears her throat at that moment while stepping out the reception desk.

“In that case I will prepare the meeting room so that you can talk comfortably”

“Actually”, Jora stops in her tracks when Smoker speaks, “I prefer to talk with (y/n) in the rest area, just to be sure that there isn’t any kind of microphones installed as the last time I visited you”

You see Jora’s eye twitch and deduce that Smoker’s deduction was right.

“As you wish”, Jora says, even if it was evident that she disliked Smoker’s petition.

You and Smoker follow the woman to the room. Smoker lets you enter first and when you both are inside he closes the door behind him. He waits some seconds and when Jora’s footsteps finally fade the inspector turns to look at you.

You have already taken a seat in one of the sofas, adopting the most relaxed posture that you could.

“So what can I do for you inspector?”, you think that smiling a little nervously wasn’t going to hurt as long as you didn’t show yourself excessively hysterical, “I think I haven’t done anything to be arrested”

Smoker offers you a lopsided smile before shaking his head.

“No, you haven’t”, Smoker takes a seat in front of you, “but there are some questions that I would like you to answer, related to your job in the company”

You nod.

“Alright. I’ll answer the best I can”

Smoker nods as well and crosses his hands between his parted legs before talking again.

“Very well. Then, first of all, how did you end working for Donquixote Doflamingo? Because as far as I know it’s pretty difficult to get a job here, and even more difficult, not to say impossible, to do it directly under his direct command”

You think about what to say but this question was pretty easy to answer with more or less the truth.

“Actually, Doflamingo’s brother recommended me for a position here”

Smoker looked surprised when hearing your reply.

“Really? I thought that his brother didn’t want anything to do with Doflamingo’s company”

Well, this was easy enough to answer too.

“Yes, and he doesn’t. But he knew that I needed money to pay the rent of my apartment, and since (modesty apart) I’m pretty good at programming and Doflamingo was establishing a new business here and needed people, Corazon decided that me working here would help the both of us”

Smoker hums to himself and seems to accept your explanation, that evidently wasn’t all the truth but obviously you weren’t going to tell the man that Doflamingo had blackmailed you because he knew that you were in love with Corazon at that moment.

“And, while working here”, Smoker fixes his eyes on you again, “have you noticed something out of the ordinary?”

You pretend to think. Okay, it seemed that now the hard questions were going to begin. You better be prepared.

“Well, between you and me, I think that the whole Donquixote Family is quite out of the ordinary, but apart from that no, I haven’t noticed anything weirder than that”

Smoker chuckles for a moment when hearing the first part of your reply but almost immediately his expression turns serious again.

“So you say that there is nothing weird in this company. And I suppose that you haven’t seen any suspicious clients, or heard about deals that may not be legal at all”

Now there is a clear hint of skepticism in Smoker’s voice, but you make sure to show yourself confused while talking next.

“Inspector, my job in the company consists, exclusively, of updating the data base of the clients and of fixing the bugs that can be there. I’m just a simple Computer Engineer, so I’ve never met any of the company clients directly nor ever assist to any important reunions”, you adopt a curious expression before speaking next, “but why are you suddenly asking me all that?”

Smoker looks at you for some seconds in silence, as if he was deciding if you honestly didn’t know what he was talking about or if you were just pretending. You make sure not to avert your (e/c) eyes from him during all the time, and eventually the man sighs and seems to opt to believe your apparent ignorance.

“I ask because you don’t seem to know what a dangerous bastard the man you’re working for is”

You weren’t expecting at all that Smoker insulted Doflamingo so openly and you tense against your will, even if deep inside you know that the man wasn’t too wrong when describing Doflamingo like that.

“What do you mean?”, you say, trying that your tone didn’t come up too rude.

“I mean that you’re being used, and I bet my badge that the work that you’ve been put to do is to hide the illegal deals that this company is carrying out”, Smoker’s serious tone acquires a hint of irritation, “I’ve been after Donquixote Doflamingo for almost ten years, and you don’t have the least idea about what that man is able to do. He knows how to manipulate people around him as if they were his puppets just to achieve what he wants, and has destroyed uncountable lives to be where he is now. He doesn’t care about anything but his own benefit and is able to sacrifice everyone around him just for his purpose”

“That’s not true. He cares about his people”

The words escape your mouth before you are able to stop them, what causes Smoker to raise an eyebrow.

“Oh? And how exactly a _simple_ Computer Engineer that is not aware about anything in the company knows that?”

You know that you have made a mistake but still lie with determination.

“Because even if I don’t know Doflamingo that much I know Corazon, and I believe what he tells me about his brother”

“His brother is under Doflamingo’s influence the same way that everyone in this company is”, Smoker replies before frowning at you, “and for the way you are heatedly defending him it seems that you are have fallen under his influence as well”

“Look, inspector, I’m not heatedly defending anyone and I’m not under anyone’s spell”, you say, beginning to lose your patience, “I just say that while working for Doflamingo I haven’t seen anything weird, and the few times that I’ve spoken with the man he has treated me nicely, so-”

“That’s just because he needs you for now”, Smoker interrupts you, “the moment you stop being useful for him, he will throw you away. I know what I’m talking about. I’ve lost several good men and women under my care because of him. Some of them have mysteriously disappeared not to be seen again, while I’m sure that others have felt attracted god-knows-how to that man’s charismatic personality and had decided to join him instead. Don’t be one of the last ones, kid. Because you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into”

You don’t bother to hide your annoyance anymore while talking next, because of course you knew that Doflamingo wasn’t what you’d call an exemplary man, and of course you knew that Doflamingo was the kind of man who wouldn’t have the least problem in getting rid of the people who dared to hamper with his business.

But despite all that, you loved Doflamingo, because you knew how much the man cared about the ones closer to him, how much he cared about you, and how he wouldn’t hesitate anything for you if it was necessary, so you were going to support him no matter what, even if that meant that your own integrity was going to be questioned from now on.

 “Inspector, this _kid_ is old enough already to decide what she wants or doesn’t want to do, so stop trying to convince me not to work here because I like my job and I plan to keep doing it”, you stand up from your seat with vehemence, “now, if you don’t have more questions, I would like to come back to my office”

There is a tense silence during which Smoker keeps looking at you without saying anything, but the man seems to notice your resolve because he eventually stands up as well while exhaling a defeated sigh.

“Miss (y/n), I’ve come here because inspector Coby told me that there was a new young member in the company, and I wanted to warn you about Doflamingo before you got too involved”, Smoker’s tone becomes a little frustrated, “but it seems that I’ve arrived too late, since it’s evident what side you are on”

You can’t help to feel a little guilty for your rude attitude because Smoker was a good man and his worry about you was genuine, so you make sure to soften your tone while talking next.

“Thanks for the warning, inspector”, you say sincerely, “but don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing”

Smoker snorts.

“I really doubt that. I’m leaving now, but let me ask you one last question”, Smoker crosses his arms, “do you know anything about Doflamingo’s past?”

You gulp. The way Smoker has asked you meant that he knew at least more than you did.

“No, I don’t. I’ve already told you that I don’t know Doflamingo that much”

Smoker looks at you a little skeptically before speaking.

“In that case, since you are so sure that Doflamingo cares about his family I recommend you to ask him about his father. And if he doesn’t want to answer”, Smoker extracts a personal card from his pocket, “feel free to contact me and I’ll fill you in”

You look at the card for some seconds before eventually accepting it.

“Well, thanks for your time Miss (y/n)”, Smoker extracts now from his coat two (yes, _two_ ) cigars and puts them on his mouth, “I really hope you eventually change your mind”

You exhale a patient sigh.

“Goodbye, inspector Smoker”

Smoker nods a farewell before abandoning the room. You approach the door and when you hear the man saying goodbye to Jora you let out a deep breath. You haven’t realized how tense you were until Smoker had left. Damn, that guy was tough.

At that moment you hear fast step approaching, so you hurriedly hide Smoker’s card in your pocket just when the door opens and Jora appears.

“Are you alright, dear?! How has it gone?!”

“Calm down, Jora. Everything has gone right”, you reassure, “he has just tried to convince me to leave the company. That’s all”

Jora huffs.

“That man doesn’t know when to give up. At the end the Young Master is going to have to take matters in his hands”

You gulp.  

“I-I don’t think that would be necessary. As I’ve said the man just wanted to warn me about Doflamingo, it’s not necessary to…umh…take care of him”

Jora exhales a soft chuckle when hearing you hurried words, but damn, even if Doflamingo had all the rights to hate Smoker you haven’t disliked the man. He was definitely brave and his convictions were really firm if he was persistently going after Doflamingo, so you preferred that he didn’t end beaten up. Or worse.  

“(y/n), you are too good natured”

After talking with Jora a little more about the reunion you go back to the elevator to go to your office.

During the ride you extract Smoker’s card and look at it while thinking to yourself.

‘ _Since you are so sure that Doflamingo cares about his family I recommend you to ask him about his father_ ’

You exhale a long sigh. It seemed that when Doflamingo came back from his trip, you were going to have a rather interesting conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Smoker, he just wanted to warn you…but too bad! You aren’t going to sell Doffy out :D  
>  **Spoiler for the next chapter** : Donquixote’s Brother past :)


	13. Discovering the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are still thinking about how to ask Doflamingo about his past when he comes back from his trip. The subject comes up in a little different way that you’d have preferred.

When you come back to the office the whole Family practically assaults you to ask about the reunion with Smoker. You calm them down and tell them the same that you have told Jora: that the inspector had just tried to convince you that you shouldn’t work in the company.

You don’t mention though what Smoker had commented about Doflamingo’s father. After all you were going to ask Doflamingo directly about it, or well, that was theoretically the plan if you managed to summon up the determination to do it because you had the feeling that Doflamingo’s past was going to be striking to say the least, and you couldn’t help to be a little afraid of what your reaction was going to be when learning about it.

At the end the Family decides to wait until Doflamingo’s return to tell him about the inspector’s visit. After all, calling Doflamingo to talk about Smoker would just serve to make him angry and he had already a busy week. You don’t say anything but you feared that when Doflamingo learnt that Smoker had tried to put you against him, his reaction wasn’t going to be very good either way.

You don’t have more news of Doflamingo until two days later, when he calls you in the middle of the afternoon while you were re-designing certain elements of the costume shop’s web.

“Hey”, you greet with surprise, “thought you had a reunion at this hour”

Doflamingo chuckles and speaks in a lower tone than usual, as if he was making sure than anyone was listening to his conversation.

“ _And I am, but I had to ask you something and I’ve got out for a moment. Are you going tomorrow morning to the University?_ ”

You blink surprised.

“Yes, I have a presentation in the morning and I will be at University until 1 p.m. or so”

“ _Fufufu~. Perfect then_ ”

Your confusion grows even more but Doflamingo keeps talking before you can ask why he had stopped a probably important reunion to ask you that.

“ _I have to come back inside. Sorry for bothering you while working for my little brother_ ”

“Oh, don’t worry”, you adopt a teasing tone, “I’ll just tell that this time you’ve been the one in stealing my time in the shop”

Doflamingo chuckles when recognizing those words.

“ _So my brother dares to betray me by telling you about our private conversations_ ”

“Oh, yes, you don’t know how sneaky Corazon is in reality”

Doflamingo laughs because definitely ‘sneaky’ couldn’t be a more unsuitable word to describe the younger Donquixote. As it he had been summoned, the door of the office opens at that moment and Corazon enters.

“Oh, are you talking to Doffy? Tell him I say hello”, your eyes open wide and Corazon answers you unasked question with an amused smile, “your expression changes totally when talking to him. It’s evident how in love you are”

“C-Corazon!”, you exclaim bright red, hoping that Doflamingo hadn’t heard him, but when you hear the man laugh you know that it’s too late.

“ _Mmm, is that so, young lady?_ ”

You blush even more when hearing Doflamingo’s utterly satisfied tone.

“D-didn’t you have to come back to your reunion?!”

Your sulking tone just causes Doflamingo to laugh burst out laughing.

“ _Actually I should. See you soon, (y/n)_. _Can’t wait to see that loving expression of yours~_ ”

You sigh with resignation and when you hang up your idiot boyfriend is still laughing teasingly at you. You ‘glare’ at Corazon, who immediately raises his hands in a defensive posture.

“Hey, I’ve just stated a fact. It’s Doffy the one who has laughed”

“Yeah, yeah, say what you want, but don’t blame me when I use a ridiculous photo of you as the new background of the website”

Corazon laughs when hearing your threat, that doesn’t sound as effective as you’d like because you are indeed smiling at well.

“By the way (y/n), I know that I’m probably asking much from you but do you think that you could go see Law before going home? It seems that he has a problem with his computer and he needs to solve it with certain urgency. He has asked me to tell you that he will pay you for the troub-”

“Oh, please, tell him that he is an idiot and that I don’t plan to accept any money”, you see Corazon about to protest but you don’t let him, “and if he insists, I swear that the next background of the website will be you with the word ‘weakling’ written on your beautiful forehead”

It’s Corazon’s turn to ‘glare’ at you while you smile at him charmingly.

“Now I know why you and Doffy make such a good couple: you are as manipulative as him”

Your smile only widens when hearing Corazon. Probably you shouldn’t feel flattered for being called ‘manipulative’ but you nevertheless do.

After finishing working in the shop you do as Corazon has asked you and make a stop in Law’s clinic. Apparently, his computer had gone crazy and didn’t let him consult the list of patients for the next week. After some moments of checking his computer you discover that there is a virus on it. You spend a little more time goggling on the Internet to know how to fix it and after a couple of failed attempts you eventually manage to eliminate the virus.

“Okay, I think it’s done”, you announce with a satisfied smile, “try to accede your files again”

You stand up from the chair to allow Law to sit down again, since he has been standing behind you with his arms crossed seeing how you worked. He spends some minutes checking everything and when he lets out a relieved sigh you know that everything is fixed.

“Thanks a lot, (y/n)-ya. You’ve saved my life”

You chuckle when hearing Law’s sincere grateful tone.

“No, doc, you’re the one who saves lives. I just fix broken computers”

Law rolls his eyes with a smile when hearing your bad joke before looking at you with hesitation.

“Are you sure that I don’t have to pay you?”

You shake your head.

“Nope. Or well, you can, but I don’t know if Corazon has told you what I’ll do in that case”

Law chuckles.

“Yes, he has. Although you must know that I have several photos of Cora-san that are way more ridiculous than the one you have suggested”

You smile mischievously.

“Oh, really? Then I’ve thought about it better: you don’t have to pay me anything _but_ in exchange for my services you have to show me a ridiculous photo of Corazon”

You have said it as a joke but to your surprise Law thinks to himself for a moment before extracting his mobile.

“Alright, but you better not say that I’ve shown you this”

You nod eagerly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a thin-”

Your mouth falls opened when seeing the photo of a four-years old blonde boy whose hair covered all his forehead and eyes. He was facing the camera with his mouth, chin and nose covered in red lipstick, a guilty-scared expression on his face as if he had been caught red-handed.

“Oh my god, is that Corazon when he is little?!”, you exclaim covering your mouth with a hand, almost drooling.

“Yes”, Law says with a smile, “apparently this is the first time that he borrowed his mother’s lipstick to put it on him. I think that this photo is really cute but when I said that Cora-san blushed and said that he was ridiculous”

“What?! But he is adorable in this photo!”, suddenly an idea comes to your mind, “oh god, I have to get pictures of Doffy when he is little. I wonder if he already wore glasses all the time”

Law chuckles.

“I wouldn’t mind to see more photos of Cora-san either”, Law’s tone becomes serious, “but it seems that they don’t have much photos of their childhood. What happened with their father has surely something to do with it”

Your heart misses a beat when hearing Law.

Again, Doflamingo and Corazon’s father was mentioned, and for the way Law’s expression has darkened it seemed that you were right when guessing that whatever that had happened in the past with the Donquixote Brothers and that involved their father wasn’t good.

“Do…do you know anything about Corazon and Doflamingo’s past?”

Law looks at you with surprise.

“Oh, so you don’t know anything? I thought you’d do, since you know Cora-san for longer than me”

‘ _Nope, I was busy enough trying to hide my feelings for him so I didn’t dare to ask him too much about his past_ ’, you think to yourself.

“No, I don’t”, you try to formulate your next question with a casual tone but you know that your tension is horribly noticeable, “so did something happen with his father?”

Even if it doesn’t take Law much to answer, you realize that he is carefully choosing his words, as if he was making sure to answer without lying but without saying all the truth.

“Cora-san just told me that his mother died when Doflamingo and he were little, and that his father followed her not much time later, but that’s all”

Law holds your now inquisitive gaze but doesn’t add anything more. You are tempted to press him but somehow you know that the doctor wasn’t going to tell you anything more. You suppress a sigh. Well, it seemed that your only option was to ask Doflamingo about it, so you better get prepared to bring up the subject when he came back.

After saying goodbye to Law you go home directly. You arrive a little later than usual so when you enter the apartment Rebecca was about to finish preparing dinner.

“You are late”, Rebecca reproaches you playfully when you stick your head in the kitchen to say hello.

“It’s been Law’s fault. His computer had gone crazy”

“Hehe, I bet that it wasn’t worse than when mine broke”

“Of course not. I’m still wondering what the hell you did to have 15 different viruses”

“It’s a natural talent of mine”

You exhale a resigned sigh while grabbing some plates and glasses to begin to set the table.

“Oh, I almost forget”, you look with confusion at Rebecca hurriedly approach the entrance and return some seconds later with a relatively big envelope on her hands, “this has arrived this afternoon. It’s for you”

“For me?”, you frown while taking the envelope, “but I’m not expecting anything. And this doesn’t even have a sender”

“Yes, I know it’s weird”, Rebecca suddenly gets pale, “wait, it hadn’t occurred to me before but you don’t think it’s a bomb or something, right?!”, you throw a ‘ _really?_ ’ skeptic look at the girl that causes her to pout, “w-what? I remind you that you are now dating a hot gangster that will probably have a lot of enemies, and I’m sure those enemies will attack his beloved first!”

“Becca, if this was a bomb the envelope wouldn’t be so thin. It would have more protrusions and wouldn’t be as well closed as it is”

“Oh, excuse me: I didn’t know that you were an envelope-bomb expert”

“And I'm not, but the other day Gladius gave a talk about bombs in the company and I assisted, and those were some things that he commented”

Rebecca hums to herself more relieved while you open the envelope. Fortunately, it wasn’t a bomb what was inside but several papers. However, when you extract the first paper and the first thing you see is the words “CRIMINAL REPORT” in capital letters together with a photography of a younger Doflamingo, your blood begins to boil and you practically throw the envelope on the table with a rude gesture.

“H-Hey, watch out!”, Rebecca exclaims grabbing in time a glass that has been about to fall because of your emphatic movement, “(y/n), are you okay? What is inside?”

“You can see it yourself”

Rebecca hesitates at first but when you don’t say anything she takes the papers.

“A criminal report?”, Rebecca’s eyes open wide while looking at you with confusion, “but who…?”

“Oh, I know who”, you snap with irritation, “I guess that inspector Smoker has decided to completely ignore what I told him about leaving me alone and has decided to send me this to convince me that Doflamingo can’t be trusted”

Rebecca nods to herself before taking a quick glance at the rest of the pages.

“It seems that he has sent you the whole report. Now we know why the letter had no sender. I don’t think it’s legal that you have such information. The inspector Smoker has to be really worried about you to have sent you this”

“Well, I can gladly suggest him a place where he can introduce his concern”

“(y/n)…”

You cross your arms and huff with frustration, ignoring Rebecca light scolding tone. Yeah, you knew that probably Smoker was thinking about your well being when sending you this. He had really seemed worried about you the other day, but still who the hell did he think he was? You have already told him the other day that you were perfectly fine in the company, so why did he have to keep trying to make you believe that Doflamingo was a bad guy? You weren’t an idiot, obviously you knew that Doflamingo wasn’t a saint, and it didn’t surprise you that much that he had a criminal report, but it infuriated you that Smoker tried to put you against him.

“So what are you going to do?”, Rebecca inquires with a cautious tone, “I mean, are you going to read the report?”

You look at the pages that Rebecca is sustaining in her hands. It was really probable that all the questions that were rounding your head could be solved if you read it, so you would be lying if you said that you didn’t feel an horrible curiosity about what was said in that report.

However, you feel that reading it would be as if you were spying on Doflamingo, and you didn’t want to do that, even if nervousness invaded you every time that you picture yourself asking Doflamingo about his past.

“No. I prefer to ask Doflamingo before reading anything”

Rebecca nods and returns the pages to you.

“Well, what we can say is that Doflamingo was rather hot on his twenties as well”

You can’t help to laugh when hearing Rebecca’s comment. As always, she knew exactly what to say to make you feel better.

After having dinner Rebecca remains awake a little more but you decide to go early to bed. You leave Doflamingo’s report on your desk, next to Smoker’s personal card, and enter the bed determined not to waste any second by thinking about those stupid papers.

* * *

“Yes, Finally it’s over! At last we won’t have to see that idiot teacher’s face anymore!”

“ _Sssh_! Koala, don’t speak so loud! The man could still hear you!”

“Vivi is right. Besides, what you’ve said is sexual harassment”

“No, Kalifa, it isn’t!”

You suppress a smile while Koala, Vivi and Kalifa, your Master classmates, keep with their animated talk. You have met the three girls this course, meaning that you just know them for less than two months, and even if you four couldn’t be more different you worked surprisingly well together, although maybe the fact that you were used to work with people with clashing personalities had helped as well.

“Okay, we have to celebrate this”, Koala says with a wide smile, “what about going to grab something to eat?”

“Fine by me”, Vivi says while Kalifa adjusts her glasses and nods, “what about you, (y/n)? You come with us as well, right?”

“I’d like to”, you say with an apologetic smile, “but if I don’t go home already I won’t be in time for work”

Koala huffs while crossing her arms.

“You always put the work as an excuse! Could it be…”, the girl points at you with an accusing finger, “…that you are meeting someone else without telling us? Maybe with a secret boyfriend?”

“Koala, you are obsessed with boyfriends”

“No, Vivi, she is obsessed with _her_ boyfriend”, Kalifa corrects the blue-haired girl.

“I-I’m not! Is it that bad that I like to talk about my lovely Sabo from time to time?”

“ _From time to time_?”, Kalifa repeats in a tone that is clearly sarcastic.

You suppress a sigh and look at your wristwatch. Damn, at this rate you were really going to be late.

You are about to announce that you had to get going when at that moment a black limousine stops just in front of the University gates, which causes your three friends to stop quarrelling and your heart to miss a beat.

Wait. That limousine was _too_ familiar…

At that moment the back door of the car opens, and this time your heart literally stops briefly when Doflamingo gets out of the limousine to lean casually against it after adjusting his suit jacket with a fluent movement.

You are forced to gulp to wet a little your completely dry throat, confusion and happiness invading you at the same time, because what the hell was Doflamingo doing here?! Has he really come to pick you up at the University in a _limousine_?! It was as if you were in a shojo-manga in which the rich boy goes visit the not-as-rich girl, with the difference that Doflamingo runs rings around the usual shojo-manga heros. Oh god, you had to make an effort not to smile like an idiot right now.

“Oh, my”, you are surprised when Kalifa gulps and adjusts her glasses again a little shakily, “I wouldn’t certainly mind to be sexually harassed for that kind of man”

“K-Kalifa, don’t say such things!”, Vivi exclaims bright red before clearing her throat fixing her eyes on Doflamingo, “although it’s true that he is quite handsome”

“You have Sabo, Koala. You have Sabo”, Koala begins to repeat to herself like a prayer, “you have Sabo and you definitely shouldn’t think _that_ about anyone else than him”

A wave of pride invades you when knowing that the man for whom your three friends are drooling right is _your_ boyfriend. You look towards Doflamingo again and realize that he has finally noticed you, since a smirk wider than usual was adorning his face.

You suppress a smile. This was going to be funny.

“Well, see you the next week”, you say your friends while using your best casual tone, “I shouldn’t make my boyfriend wait more”

Your friends’ reactions don’t disappoint you, since the three of them almost break their neck while staring at you.

“WHAT?!”, Koala looks at Doflamingo and you alternatively several times, “that man…you…your boyfriend?!”

“Koala, breath”, Vivi orders Koala before looking at you with widen eyes, “but since when?!”

“Oh god, I’ve confessed to want to be sexually harassed by my friend’s boyfriend”, Kalifa mutters in a mortified tone, “this will be the end of our friendship”

You can’t help to laugh when hearing your friend’s comments.

“Sorry, I’ll tell you everything later but right now I really need to go”

“Yes”, Koala exclaims after finally recovering when you have already begun to walk towards the University gates, “you better tell us everything or I won’t be your friend anymore!”

You chuckle while waving your hand goodbye. You feel people staring at you with surprise while you approach Doflamingo, but even if you feel a little nervous for being attracting so many glances you walk with confidence, your smile widening on its own the closer you get to Doflamingo.

“Now I understand why you called me yesterday to ask me that”, you say when you are still a couple of meters away from him.

“Fufufu~. I thought it would be a nice surprise”

“Oh, and it has been”, now you are just in front of Doflamingo, “but you are a show off, you know? Almost everyone is looking at us right now”

Doflamingo hums to himself before enclosing his arms around your waist to kiss your passionately, causing the people around to let out surprised murmurs.

“Well, now _everyone_ is looking at us”

You exhale a breathless chuckle, your cheeks bright red because of the kiss and because Doflamingo was definitely right.

“Great, but now we better go before rumors about me being with rich gangster begin to spread”

Doflamingo opens the limousine door for you so that you enter. You say hello to Lao G while taking your seat and the man greets you back with a nod.

“Where are we G-oin-G now, Youn-G Master?”, Lao G asks once Doflamingo enters the car and closes the door.

“I told Jora to make a reservation in the Celestial Restaurant”, Doflamingo extends his arms over the back seats, “but maybe (y/n) wants to go home first”

“Yes, please, I would like to leave my laptop there”, you look at Doflamingo with curiosity, “do you have a business meal or something?”

Doflamingo looks at you with amusement.

“Yes, with you”

It takes you an embarrassing amount of time to understand that Doflamingo has just invited to have lunch.

“O-Oh”, you exhale an ashamed laugh, “okay. Then it’s better if I warn Becca that I’m not eating home or she will kill me”

“Don’t worry, I asked Viola to warn her that you’d be out”

You hum to yourself before adopting a teasing tone.

“So you were assuming that I was going to say yes?”

“Obviously”

Doflamingo’s definitive answer makes you begin to laugh. You are tempted to kiss him again but the fact that Lao G was present makes you think about it twice.

“Coward”

You look at Doflamingo surprised.

“What?”

Doflamingo offers you a teasing grin.

“We are already together but you still don’t dare to give the first step? You are a coward, (y/n)”

You half-close your eyes at Doflamingo while blushing. You don’t know how the hell he had noticed what you have planned to do when he wasn’t even looking at you, but it didn’t matter. And you know that Doflamingo is just mocking you, and that he is saying that on purpose to make you react, but you still decide to fall in his play, so with a rude movement you crawl in his lap and after securing your hands on his shoulders you snap a hard kiss on his lips.

Doflamingo was obviously expecting your reaction but that doesn’t stop him from groaning softly when your tongue manages to sneak inside his mouth. He lets you lead the kiss for some moments but eventually his dominant nature makes him take full control of it, and you happily let him do.

“Fu fu fu~. How predictable, (y/n)”

“Shut up”, you snap with a smile, removing Doflamingo’s glasses and setting them aside to look at his amused eyes before kissing him again.

At that moment a sound similar to a car window being lifted invades the limousine. You turn your head and see that Lao G has just activated the inner black panel that isolates the chauffer from the back seats.

“Thank you, Lao G”, Doflamingo says while you can’t help to blush a little because your provoked impulsive action has caused Lao G to do that.

“A pleasure, Youn-G Master”, Lao G says from behind the panel, “I thou-G-ht that you and (y/n) would appreciate some privacy. I can also turn the music on if you want to set a more romantic mood”

You are going to reject that suggestion with embarrassment but at that moment Doflamingo grabs your chin to make you face him again and licks at the side of your neck hungrily, making you whine while trembling.

“It’s not necessary, but make sure to drive with calm”, you suppress in time another whine when Doflamingo bites your earlobe frustratingly slow, “I want to enjoy the ride as much as I can”

You don’t hear Lao G’s completely imperturbable ‘ _Leave it to me, Youn-G Master_ ’ because Doflamingo sucks at your skin at that moment before kissing you again fiercely, so you just put your efforts in kissing back with fervor while suppressing the urge to moan every time that Doflamingo’s skillful tongue reaches a sensitive spot inside your mouth.

For once, you really regret that the University was so close from your apartment.

* * *

Even if Lao G obeys Doflamingo and drives all the slow he can, in less than ten minutes you have reached your destination. Lao G parks the car just in front of your apartment and open the door of the car to allow Doflamingo and you to get out of it.

Doflamingo looks as composed as always but your state gives loud hints about what you’ve been doing during the travel, since your cheeks were suspiciously red and your breathing way more labored than usual.

“Well, here we are”, you say after clearing your throat while extracting the keys, “do you want to enter?”

“Yes, I do. I’d like to see why you’ prefer living here instead of in my mansion”

You roll your eyes with a patient smile while opening the door

“I haven’t said that, but I haven’t talked to Rebecca about it yet”

“Mmm, are you sure?”, since the elevator wasn’t too big _and_ Doflamingo was, you find yourself rather caged between Doflamingo’s body and the elevator’s wall, not that you minded too much, “because Viola told me that Rebecca has commented that she wouldn’t mind at all to move on with us”

“God, it’s impossible to talk without you knowing”, you exclaim with a little exasperated tone, “and just so you know we have talked about it but not _seriously_ ”

“Fufufu~. Well, I don’t plan to pressure you but I also know that you have to renew your rental agreement by the end of the year, so I hope to have your positive answer by then, young lady”

You exhale a resigned sigh that causes Doflamingo to snicker. At that moment the elevator reaches your floor so you both step out towards your apartment door.

“I warn you that Rebecca and I aren’t the tidiest people in the world”, you say while opening the door, feeling suddenly a little nervous when the realization of Doflamingo being in your home sinks in you.

“Don’t worry. You just saw the entrance of my manor, and that has _nothing_ to do with the state of the Family’s private quarters, believe me”

 You chuckle relieved while finally opening the door, and you are surprised when seeing that Becca wasn’t at home. You leave the keys on the little plate that is over the entrance’s little table and then you see a note that belonged to Becca. You would recognize her perfect handwriting anywhere:

‘ _Since you eat outside I’ll do the same. If you do dirty stuff in the apartment, please, make sure that it is in your room ;)_ ’

“Has she left a note?”

You blush intensely and almost crush the note in your hand when hearing Doflamingo’s question.

“Y-Yeah, Becca has written me saying that she will eat outside”, you say a little hurriedly while hiding the note in your pocket.

“Oh, so right now we are alone?”, you gulp when Doflamingo embraces your from behind, “well, I can always cancel the restaurant reservation if you prefer to stay here a little longer”

You bite your bottom lip not to moan when Doflamingo nips the shell of your ear. Doflamingo’s proposal sounded really tempting, because the make-out session in the limousine had been extremely brief for your liking…

…Buuut at that moment your stomach had to ruin the moment by growling embarrassingly loudly.

There is a brief silence and then Doflamingo speaks with a purposely imperturbable voice.

“Or we could follow the plan since it seems that someone is a little hungry”

You cover your eyes with embarrassment and Doflamingo laughs at your reaction.

“Don’t blush, dear. It’s not something to be embarrassed about. Although maybe Lao G is now wondering what that sound has been…”

“ _Doffy_ …”

Doflamingo snickers when hearing the plea in your voice.

“Love when you call me that”, he purrs in your ear, making you smile against your will.

You reluctantly separate from Doflamingo and lead him to your bedroom. You make sure to subtly kick a couple of clothes that were on the floor to hide them under the bed just when Doflamingo enters, and you realize then how damn small your room is because Doflamingo could cover it with two long steps.

“Welcome to my humble abode”, you say with a grandiloquent ironic tone while signaling the room with a wide movement, “I’d tell you to put yourself comfortable but I’m afraid there aren’t many places to sit down”

Doflamingo chuckles while you turn your back to him to leave your bag on your bed. You begin to extract the laptop and some of your folders while Doflamingo curiously inspect the room.

“It’s not that bad. Although I think that Baby 5’s wardrobe is a little bigger than this room”

“Ha ha ha”, you say while thinking about a proper reply, and you have just found it when you suddenly feel Doflamingo stay still in the room, an unexpected tension surrounding him suddenly.

“(y/n)…can I ask you something?”

Your heart miss a beat when Doflamingo speaks, because his voice, though calm, carried a rather difficult to misinterpret hint of anger on it, the mocking from his previous comments completely vanished.

You turn around with confusion and nervousness to face him and you get pale when seeing Doflamingo, deathly serious, sustaining between his index and middle finger Smoker’s card, while carrying in the other hand his criminal report.

 _Shit_.

Shit, you were a complete idiot. Doflamingo’s surprise visit had made you forget not just to ask him about his past but also to forget that those things were in your desk. Oh crap, you better fix this right now before Doflamingo’s menacing aura grew even more.

“Okay, this is not what it seems to be”

In your hurry for answering you realize that you couldn’t have chosen worse words, because your comment just makes you look incredibly guilty, and in fact a cold sweat invades you when Doflamingo clenches his jaw, causing his teeth to grit.

“Are you sure?”, oh crap, he was angry. He was _really_ angry. Probably angrier than you had ever seen him be, “because what it seems is that, behind my back, you have called inspector Smoker to gather information about me”

“No no no no, it’s not like that”, you interrupt him, forcing yourself to hold his gaze. You haven’t done anything wrong, so you shouldn’t feel scared right now. Although shit, it was difficult: sometimes you forgot that even if Doflamingo was a really lovely boyfriend he kept being intimidating and dangerous as hell, “I didn’t ask Smoker for that report…”

“ _Smoker_? What a familiar way to talk about him”

“I didn’t ask _inspector_ Smoker for that report”, you correct yourself when hearing Doflamingo’s voice getting even more annoyed and begin to talk rapidly, praying not to make any other mistake, “the thing is that he came to the company this Tuesday because he wanted to see me to convince me not to work there because you were a bad guy, and I told him to leave me alone because I liked to work in the company but still he told me that he had information about you that would make me change my mind and gave me his card even if I haven’t asked, and of course I didn’t listened to him and I didn’t call him either but then yesterday he sent me your report even if I hadn’t asked for it but I promise I haven’t even read it!”

You take a deep breath, since you have explained everything without taking air. You look at Doflamingo and are relieved to see that his stance is a little less tense than before, even if his expression keeps being serious.

“But if Smoker came to the company why no one warned me about it?”

“Because the Family thought that calling you just to mention the inspector would only make you angry, and you were busy enough with your reunions”, you answer without hesitation, “besides, since he just came to warn me but didn’t perform any kind of inspection they thought it was better to tell you about it when you came back”

Doflamingo doesn’t say anything. He simply opens the report and begins to read the pages, causing your nervousness to grow even more.

“Look, I swear that I’m telling the truth”, you insist, “and I know it’s difficult to believe because I should have told you all this the moment I’ve seen you this morning, but then you have arrived in such a damn fashion way and I completely forgot about it”

“I believe you”, Doflamingo says, still not looking at you, “you are and awful liar after all, so I’d know if you weren’t saying the truth”

You are so relieved when hearing Doflamingo’s words that you dare to joke.

“Don’t worry, I’ll eventually learn how to lie so that not even you can notice it”

You note yourself a win when Doflamingo chuckles after hearing your answer. At least it seemed that he wasn’t angry anymore, but his expression while reading the report was still a little tense.

“So Smoker sent you this to convince you that I’m a bad guy. And you say you haven’t read it?”

You shake your head.

“No”, you hesitate but at the end decide to speak. It was now or never after all, “although he commented something about your father”

Doflamingo’s stance doesn’t change but you see him grabbing the report with a little more of force.

“I see”, Doflamingo glances over the report for several more seconds before suddenly approaching you, and your eyes open wide when he offers it to you “all yours”

You blink, your expression dumbfounded.

“W-What?”

“Despite how much I hate inspector Smoker it seems that he knows how to do his job, since this report contains a nice quantity of info about me that not many people is aware of”, Doflamingo grins, “are you sure you don’t want to read it? You’ll learn everything you need to know about the infamous Donquixote Doflamingo”

You look alternatively at the report and Doflamingo, but at the end you shake your head again.

“I still prefer to hear it directly from my infamous boyfriend’s lips”

An expression of surprise adorns briefly Doflamingo’s face before he bursts out laughing.

“You are truly unique, young lady. Although I warn you that what you are going to discover can be too much to handle”

You gulp but your expression is defiant while talking next.

“Try me”

Doflamingo observes you during some seconds before smirking, apparently satisfied with your reaction.

“Alright. Before you have mentioned something about my father, right? Do you know anything about him?”

“Well, the other day when I went to see Law he commented something”, you adopt a cautious tone, “he told me that your mother had died when you were little, and that your father had died not much time later”

Doflamingo nods to himself.

“Yes, my mother died when I was 8 and Corazon was 6 because of an illness. And yes, my father died just two years later. However, Trafalgar forgot to mention a little detail. And that detail is…”, Doflamingo’s expression turns serious again, “…that I killed him”

A silence falls in the room when Doflamingo said those last three words. You just look at him without reacting, assimilating what you have heard.

“You killed him”, you repeat, in part expecting that Doflamingo retracted from his words, but he doesn’t do that, “b-but at that moment you were just 10 years old. How…?”, you think your question better. No, you didn’t care about the how, “I mean, why?”

There is a brief pause before Doflamingo begins to speak with a rather calm tone.

“When Corazon and I were little, my father became the owner of a big company in Mariejois, a city in the north of France. He had inherited it from his father, an ambitious man with a great vision of future, a man who knew perfectly that the business world is an eat or be eaten world where no one can expect to succeed if you are not willing to destroy your competitors, no matter how weak or strong they are”

Doflamingo’s expression turns disdainful when talking next.

“Soon, it became evident that my father didn’t have what it took to live in such a world. He wasn’t able to make the most of his competitor’s weaknesses, and he was trustful to the point of being pathetic. Because of his ineptitude and his excess of trust in people that he should have crushed, the company which my grandfather has invested his life in went bankrupt, and we lost _everything_. My mother became ill and we couldn’t even pay a doctor to take care of her, so she died in front of Corazon and me, without being able to do anything to prevent it” 

You feel a lump forming in your throat while listening to the story but Doflamingo keeps talking in a still calm tone.

“From then on Corazon and I were in charge of bringing home something to eat, since my father was busy trying to establish business that kept failing thanks to his ineptitude. During that time, I met the Executives. At that time they were just a small organization. They saw potential in me and I joined them, and thanks to them we managed to survive during the next two years. However, one day my father had a _great_ idea. He tried to make a deal with the leader of a Mafia that had been a former acquaintance of my grandfather, but what my father didn’t know was that that man bore a grudge against my grandfather because of a past deal in which my grandfather had tricked him. So, when this man came home to supposedly visit my father, he wasn’t alone”

You gulp when Doflamingo’s tone changes, pure hate dripping from every one of his words.

“That man brought his whole entourage with him. He tied Corazon, my father and me in our own house and made sure to call _every_ person that had suffered because of our grandfather so that they could take revenge on us, and during a whole night all that people discarded their anger on us. Corazon, whose body was really weak when he was a kid, still has marks in his body because of that day. After that, I swore that I would never let everyone step on me ever again. And what did my father do?”, Doflamingo almost spat the next words, “he just cried. He cried and apologized for being such a bad father, but in spite of all what had happened he didn’t have the least intention to fight to get Corazon and me out of the shit he himself had put us through. And that’s when…”, Doflamingo’s tone become dangerously calm again, “…I killed him. Because of his weakness, my mother died, and Corazon and I were about to die as well. He was just dragging us behind, and I wasn’t going to tolerate that anymore”

You bite your trembling bottom lip, trying to push back the tears that have been threatening to come out since Doflamingo mentioned how they had been lynched when they were just little kids that hadn’t done _anything_ to deserve it.

“After that, I contacted the Executives and offered Corazon to come with me, but at that moment he just resented me for having killed our father”, Doflamingo continues, the hate already gone from his voice, “the Executives knew an honest man that indeed had been trying to catch them during all that time and that would gladly take good care of Corazon, so we left him in front of that man’s door before running away from Mariejoie. From then on, the Executives and I gradually recruited more people for the organization, and it began to grow. Eight years or so later we had established a rather prosperous business so we decided that it was time to stop working in the shadows. It was around that time when Corazon contacted me again. Apparently, he had been looking for me almost all that time to tell me that he didn’t resent me anymore, but that he had discovered what he wanted to dedicate his life to the exciting costume world and that unfortunately he couldn’t join me”, despite everything, Doflamingo manages to adopt a joking tone when mentioning that, “some years later we expanded our business to Spider Miles, and our popularity grew even more. Then, we expanded to Dressrosa. And now…”, Doflamingo smirks, “…you know where we are”

When Doflamingo finishes speaking a heavy silence falls in the room.

You don’t dare to say anything immediately, afraid of not finding your own voice after hearing such a story, so after some seconds it’s Doflamingo the one who speaks once again.

“So? Anything else you would like to know?”, Doflamingo asks as if he had just been talking about the weather, but you could still detect some tension on him, so he wasn’t as relaxed as he wanted to make you believe.

You sob and shake your head.

“I think I know more than enough”, you dare to show a trembling smile, “and I don’t think that that stupid report has so many details as you’ve said”

Doflamingo exhales a short chuckle.

“Probably not”, Doflamingo’s expression turns serious once again, “however, I want you to read it, just to make sure that you completely understand who I am, and who the Family you have joined is. I know that you are clever, young lady, and that when you decided to be with me you already knew that I am not an ordinary man, but you have to be sure that you are able to support me and the family from now after knowing our origins and our way of living. Because in case you are thinking that I can eventually change and become an honorable man such as Corazon, you must know I won’t”

You gulp. What Doflamingo was telling you was clear. You were getting yourself in a complicated world by joining the family and by being with him. A world that, as Doflamingo has already commented, was about eating or being eaten, and even if until now you hadn’t faced any situation like that, it was more than probable than you’d eventually face it for being with Doflamingo.

So basically, the question was: were you ready to support Doflamingo as his girlfriend, as a member of his Family, when the time came, even if supporting him meant to go against the law?

Well, the answer was simply enough.

“Doffy, I spent a whole night helping you and the Family to hide a whole data base of corrupt clients, and at that time we weren’t even together yet”, you smile at him ironically, “don’t you think it’s evident that I will support you? It’s true that I’ve never been into the business world, and that until now I just preferred to have a pacific life, but…”, you can’t help to blush because of what you are going to say next, “…I don’t mind to have a less pacific life if I’m with you. And about this report, I’ll read it if that’s what you want, but I don’t think that my opinion will change no matter what I read. The only reason I wanted to know about your past is because Smok… _inspector_ Smoker told me that something had happened with your father that proved that you didn’t care about your family, but that’s not true. You just wanted a proper life for you and Corazon, and, as hard as it can sound, I don’t know if you could have achieved that with your father around, so I’m not going to be the one who judges you for what you did. So…”, you cross your arms and raise your chin with a defiant expression, “…sorry, Doffy, but if you wanted to make me break up with you for this, your plan hasn’t worked”

After you talk another silence falls, even thicker than the previous time.

You make sure not to avert your eyes from Doflamingo’s face, even if your heart is beating like crazy while waiting for Doflamingo’s reaction.

Finally, after several seconds that seem like hours, Doflamingo lets out a deep breath, leaves the report on the desk and extracts his mobile from his pocket.

“Lao G? It’s me”

You gulp when hearing Doflamingo’s voice sounded unexpectedly thick. Wait, was he angry again?! Hasn’t he liked your answer?!

“ _Yes, Youn-G Master?_ ”

You begin to think furiously, trying to guess if there was something terribly wrong in what you’ve said, but then Doflamingo removes his glasses to leave them on the table, and your heart stops for a moment when seeing his brown eyes shining with a light that is not anger at all but something entirely different.

“Please, tell Jora to delay the restaurant reservation”

You have barely time to hear Lao G answer with a polite ‘ _Yes, Youn-G Master_ ’ before Doflamingo suddenly pines you against your wardrobe to capture your mouth in a violent open-mouthed kiss. Your stomach curls in pleasure when his tongue invades your cavity with dominance, not even waiting for permission. Okay, you were mistaken: it seemed that Doflamingo has liked your answer, and if the way he was mind-blowing kissing you counted as indication, he has liked it _a lot_.

 You enclose your arms around Doflamingo’s neck while kissing back the best you can. Doflamingo’s hands travel from your hips to the back of your thighs to lift you up so that your faces are at the same level. You hook your legs around his waist and whine when Doflamingo presses his body against yours while keeping kissing you with abandon. You blush when feeling something hard pressing against your own lower half, hinting that you weren’t the only one feeling more and more excited.

After some moments Doflamingo stops the kiss, allowing you to practically gasp for air, but you lose it again when Doflamingo bites the side of your neck in your most sensitive spot while beginning to grind his hips against you. The undulating movement makes Doflamingo’s hardness begin to press against your core, causing you to moan again while automatically beginning to rock back against Doflamingo, craving more of that friction.

Doflamingo grunts when realizing that you are pushing against him and tries to kiss you again. However, you decide to pay him back for his teasing on your neck and dives forward to capture one of Doflamingo’s decorated earlobes in your mouth. Having friends with earrings had allowed you to learn that pierced skin was especially sensitive, so you decide to make use of that knowledge.

You lick around Doflamingo’s golden earring, nipping with purposely care the soft flesh there, and the reaction is almost immediate: a low grunt that goes directly to your core escapes from Doflamingo’s mouth. His hands grab now your thighs with almost bruising force and you smirk with satisfaction and arousal when feeling Doflamingo’s clothed member twitch against you. Doflamingo counterattacks immediately by diverting his hands from your thighs to your hips again. You shiver when they slip under your shirt, touching direct skin, the warmth of Doflamingo’s hands on you leaving your body tingling.

 Doflamingo attacks then your abused neck again, the smirk that until now was adorning your face passing to adorn his. You bite your bottom lip with want, anticipation invading you when Doflamingo hands keep ascending along your sides until stopping just under your chest. Oh god, it seemed that Rebecca was going to win that stupid bet because if things kept escalating-

_Purupurupuru Purupurupuru_

Suddenly, a sound invades the room, causing Doflamingo and you to stop momentarily.

“Is that your phone?”, you ask, more breathless that you’d like to sound.

“Yes”, Doflamingo extracts his mobile while keeping sustaining you as if you didn’t weight anything at all, “it’s just Corazon. He can wait then”

You exhale a soft chuckle when Doflamingo hangs up before gladly accepting Doflamingo’s new kiss.

However, just when you have started again...

_Purupurupuru Purupurupuru_

Doflamingo curses during the kiss and rudely answers the phone with an annoyed tone.

“Corazon, you better be dying right now”

Despite you were also regretting the interruption you are about to laugh when hearing Doflamingo’s threatening words, and you can’t help to chuckle when you hear Corazon answer with a completely unbothered tone.

“ _Sorry, Doffy, but I have kind of an emergency right now in the shop and I’d really need (y/n) to come here as soon as possible_ ”

Doflamingo’s frown accentuates.

“But today (y/n) had to work for-”

“ _Yes, for you, I know, but I_ really _need her here. The next week is Halloween already and I’m already overflowing with petitions of costumes so it would be great if she could work here this week and the next. I promise that the next two weeks she will be all yours so please, can you tell her to come here today? I’ve called her but she isn’t answering her phone_ ”

Doflamingo exhales a long sigh before looking at you, silently asking you if you agreed to that. You offer him an apologetic smile and nods, causing Doflamingo to sigh again with resignation.

“She can tell you herself”

“ _What? Are you together no-?_ ”, Corazon’s confused tone turns mortified, “ _oh damn, I’ve interrupted something right?”_

_“Oh, great! For once it’s not been me”_

_“Sshh! Barto, don’t talk too loud when Corazon-san is on the phone!”_

_“Cavendish, you are shouting, probably the others are hearing you as well!”_

You begin to laugh when Doflamingo rolls his eyes. You tap softly as his shoulder and reluctantly the he allows you to step on the floor again while giving you the mobile. You talk to Corazon, who immediately begins to apologize, and after convincing him that he hadn’t done anything wrong (Doflamingo grunts in disapproval when you say that) you agree to go to the shop that afternoon.

“Okay, I’ll be there at 15.30”

“16.30. The less he can do is letting us eat in peace”

“Doffy…”

“ _16.30_ ” 

At the end, you agree to work at the shop at 16.00 after eating with Doflamingo, but before going to the restaurant you ask Doflamingo to make a quick stop in the Police Department. This time, Doflamingo remains in the limousine with Lao G while you enter the building.

You walk with decision through the corridors while keeping a certain envelope tightly grabbed in one hand. You read the plates of the different offices until you stop in one with the name ‘Smoker’ written on it.

You knock a couple of times and it’s the inspector the one who personally opens the door.

“Miss (y/n)?”, Smoker says with surprise when seeing you standing there, “what can I do for yo-”

Without saying anything you snap the report on the man’s chest, your expression completely serious.

“I’m here to return this to you”

Smoker puffs his two cigars before grabbing the report.

“Did you read it?”

“No, I didn’t need to”, you answer coldly, “I asked Doflamingo directly and he told me everything I need to know, so I’d appreciate that, from now on, you stop trying to turn me against my boyfriend because it will be useless. Good afternoon, inspector”

You spun around and walk down the corridor with you head held high, not giving the inspector any opportunity to say anything more than a frustrated curse.

You abandon the building, knowing that not just Smoker but probably other policemen as well are probably observing the limousine that is parked just in front of the Police Department, but you simply walk with determination towards the car and enter to take a seat next to Doflamingo, who is waiting inside with a smirk on his face.

“How has it gone?”

You put the belt on.

“Good. I’ve just told him that he shouldn’t waste his time in putting me against my boyfriend”

Doflamingo bursts out laughing when hearing your answer.

“Well said”, Doflamingo holds your hand over the car seats, “although you know that by saying that Smoker will go after you as well from now on”

You smile, look at Doflamingo and adopt a purposely defiant tone before talking next.

“Let him come”

Doflamingo laughs once again and leans forward to kiss you while Lao G finally starts the car to carry you two to that promised meal.

You knew that you have just declared war to the inspector Smoker, but you also knew Doflamingo and the Family would be there to support you in case something happened, and that knowledge was enough to make your nervousness go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeell, now (y/n) is a complete criminal :D 
> 
> And well, just in case it has not been hinted enough in this chapter, the rate of the fic will grow veeery soon, so be prepared for it :)


	14. Socialization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doflamingo gives a party to officially inaugurate the Donquixote Company in the town. You are obviously invited and the celebration turns even more interesting than you’d have already hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the dinner (y/n) is wearing a long gala dress, but I won’t describe it you can imagine it as you want :P These are the [dress](http://www.kadinmodagiyim.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2017-Ni%C5%9Fan-Elbise-Modelleri-4.jpg), [accessories](http://www.bluemaize.net/im/appliances/jewelry-red-8.jpg), [handbag](http://promhug.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Prom-clutches-for-every-season-2017-Designer-prom-clutches-for-everyone-2017-Discount-evening-bags-2017-16.jpg) and [glasses](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d8/81/2b/d8812b8df9bad366acffe30dd49ad251--novelty-sunglasses-butterfly-wings.jpg) I’d choose to wear, just in case you don’t want to waste time searching for inspiration in google :D

When Corazon called you to ask for your help during the next week a part of you thought that the man was exaggerating a little, and that the situation wasn’t that bad.

You were mistaken.

Corazon wasn’t exaggerating in the least, because it seemed that _everyone_ had decided to wait until the last day to order their Halloween costumes, and the fact that Corazon’s shop was one of the most famous costumes shop in the town because of the high quality and the good prices of its products caused an overloading of orders, requests and visits, all of them obviously asking to have a costume ready for the night of October 31st.

In fact, you received so many orders during the weekend that the website collapsed, causing you to spend a really stressful day in which you practically barked at anyone who dared to knock at the office to bother you while you worked on fixing it.

You even shouted at Doflamingo when he called you that night to ask if everything was right, since it had been some days since the last time you saw each other, and fortunately Doflamingo was way more patient than people had made you believe he was (or at least, he was with the people he cared about) and while you cursed and insulted everyone indiscriminately he just listened to you while humming, agreeing with all the barbarities you were saying and that eventually included to kill Corazon for being so kind and accepting all the requests instead of rejecting some.

After venting, you felt way better and it was your turn to convince Doflamingo that he didn’t need to look for the people who were asking for costumes to _suggest_ them not to do so. After several minutes of negotiation you managed to dissuade him, but still when you went to the shop the next day you found Jora, Baby 5, Lao G, Dellinger and Sugar already there, helping Corazon, Bartolomeo and Cavendish with everything because Doflamingo had told them to do so.

Thanks to their help, you eventually managed to fulfill all the requests just in time, so when the last order was sent and the last group of teenagers abandoned the shop dressed up and with happy smiles on their faces, everyone was about to cry out of happiness and relief. The Donquixote members abandoned the shop after you all assured them that they had done more than enough, so at the end the ones who remain in the shop were Corazon, Bartolomeo, Cavendish and you.

“Fucking finally”, Bartolomeo exclaims from the floor where he is lying, “Cora-senpai, you know I’m not a greedy man, but I really hope to get an extra this month”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you an extra but to pay all of you double”, Corazon says immediately while leaning against the counter next to you, “I’m so sorry. I honestly wasn’t expecting this to be so chaotic. I don’t remember to be that busy last year”

“That’s because the website was still in process”, Cavendish comments, sitting on a chair next to where Bartolomeo is sprawled, “but since it began to work properly the requests had multiplied considerably”

“Sooo in other words, this hellish week has been (y/n)’s fault”

You are so tired that you only snort back at Bartolomeo when hearing his comment, instead of searching for a proper reply.

“I’m sorry”, Corazon repeats again, looking really guilty, “from now on I’ll make sure to limit the number of costumes that we make on celebrations dates such as these”

“That won’t work”, you say with a resigned smile, “because I’m sure that the moment someone enters the shop practically begging you to make him a costume you’ll ignore the limitation”

Corazon is about to protest but when seeing Cavendish and Bartolomeo nodding in agreement he exhales a sigh.

“Yeah, I know that I should be stricter”, Corazon scratches the back of his head and smile at you apologetically, “probably I should learn from Doffy. I’m sure he would have managed this situation way better than me”

You roll your eyes before elbowing Corazon in his ribs.

“Don’t be silly. It wouldn’t be bad that you were a little less kind from time to time, but that’s part of your charm”

Corazon’s eyes snap opened while blushing, and you just realize then that it’s probably the first time that you complement the man in such a natural way. Well, maybe if you had been brave enough in the past and had told him this, you would be with a different Donquixote right now, you think with amusement, even if now you couldn’t possibly picture yourself with anyone but Doflamingo.

“Wow, (y/n) doesn’t have enough with his scary boyfriend: she flirts with Cora-senpai too”

“I’m not flirting, I’m just saying the truth!”, your protest even if it’s obvious that Bartolomeo is just teasing you again, “and my boyfriend is not scary, he is just…a little _intense_ ”

Corazon laughs when hearing you use his same words when describing his brother. He waits for Bartolomeo and Cavendish to be a little far away from you two before speaking.

“By the way, because of these horrible days I haven’t had time to tell you this but…”, Corazon’s tone suddenly turns incredibly grateful, “…thank you for supporting Doffy even after knowing about his…well, _our_ past. I know that most part of the people would be scared after learning what he did, but you didn’t. And I know that my brother can be very sparing with words, but when he told me that you had understood his motives it was evident how much it had meant for him”

You stare at Corazon in disbelief before exhaling a surprised nervous laugh, since you weren’t expecting that Corazon told you all that.

“W-Well, thanks for telling me”, you say with an embarrassed but happy smile.

Yes, you think to yourself, Doflamingo could be a little sparing with words, but definitely he wasn’t with acts. The way he pinned against your wardrobe to wildly kiss you had proved that. And okaaay maybe you better stop thinking about it if you didn’t want to blush without apparent motive.

After helping Corazon to re-organize the shop you finally go home. You drop into the living-room sofa the moment you enter, and Rebecca sees you so exhausted she decides to have dinner with you in the sofa so that don’t have to move to the table.

You two eat comfortably while watching a rather bad action movie that was on TV, but after eating you decide that you could live without knowing the ending of the movie and go to your room to rest, although not without sending a brief message to Doflamingo first.

**_[I’m going to bed already. See you tomorrow <3 :)]_ **

As you were expecting, Doflamingo answers almost immediately.

**_[Tomorrow come to my office first thing in the morning. There is something that I’d like to thoroughly discuss with you~]_ **

When reading the last sentence you blush intensely, because somehow those words make you picture yourself and Doflamingo doing something that wasn’t precisely to have a thorough discussion but something quite different (although as much thorough, you hoped).

Oh god, could it really be that with that last sentence Doflamingo really meant what you thought he meant? Because let’s be honest, if Corazon hadn’t interrupted you two a week ago it was more than probable that you and Doflamingo would have ended…

You shake your head. Damn, hadn’t you learnt anything or what? You should know already that it was a bad idea to let your hopes up after reading just a more than ambiguous message. For now the only thing you knew was that Doflamingo wanted to discuss something with you, that was all, and it was stupid to assume that Doflamingo wanted to somehow continue what you had left unfinished, so for now the only thing you could do was to sleep, have a good rest and tomorrow would be another day.

However, despite your resolve you have several dreams in which Doflamingo and you were using his office desk for a purpose that wasn’t exactly the one the table was designed for, and that caused you to wake up in the middle of the night feeling way hotter than you should since you were already in November.

* * *

The next morning you arrive at the Company feeling stupidly nervous, and that feeling just increases when Jora announces you that Doflamingo is already in his office.

Obviously, the long elevator ride doesn’t help either, so by when you are finally in front of Doflamingo’s door you are almost sweating and your heart is dancing quite hysterically inside your chest.

You take a deep breath, trying to calm down, but since you are pretty sure that you are going to be nervous no matter what you do you decide to stop wasting unnecessary time and knock at the door with more rudeness that you’d have liked.

“Come in”

When hearing Doflamingo answer with a completely normal tone you manage to relax a little before entering. For once, Doflamingo isn’t sitting in his desk but in front of it, apparently putting some papers in order while giving his back to you. That powerful back on which you have dreamt to dig your nails that same night while Doflamingo…ARGH, for goodness sake, what was wrong with you?!

You can’t help to mutter a soft curse, insulting yourself for your stupid perverted thoughts, and that sound is enough to make Doflamingo turn around to face you. He was wearing his usual suit but since he hadn’t any programmed reunions he wasn’t wearing nor his jacket neither his necktie, just a pink silky shirt instead with the first button loose, and you gulp because Doflamingo was even sexier than usual wearing that attire that was formal and casual at the same time.

“Oh, you’ve come earlier than usual”, Doflamingo leaves the papers over the desk and approaches you with a smirk in his face, “what’s wrong, (y/n)? Couldn’t you wait more to see m-”

You interrupt Doflamingo’s teasing comment by standing on your tiptoes, enclosing your arms around his neck and kissing him. He exhales a grunt mix surprise and satisfaction before kissing you back, his arms passing to surround your waist tightly.

“Mmm, I’ll take it as a yes”

You exhale a little embarrassed laugh when hearing Doflamingo’s extremely pleased tone.

“Well, you were the one who told me yesterday to be here early, so that’s what I’ve done”

Doflamingo chuckles before nodding.

“You are right”

Doflamingo leads you to one of the couches of the room to sit down, and you are about to smile because before being together Doflamingo would have probably asked you to sit in the chair in front on his desk, not just next to him as if you were equals.

“Well, since my little brother has kidnapped you for almost a week there are some things that you don’t know yet, and one of them is…”, Doflamingo’s grin accentuates, “…that this weekend we are going to officially inaugurate the company”

Your mouth falls opened.

“What? So soon?! But Diamante and Pica were always saying that you still had a lot to do before leaving everything settled”

“Yes, we still have to work on leaving some deals completely tied up, but I’m positive that we can do that between today and tomorrow”

You nod before smiling widely.

“Well, that’s great then. But just one question: when you say ‘official inauguration’ that means ‘super big party’?”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your choice of words.

“Yes, that’s exactly that it means. It will be held this Saturday in the company and the most important clients will assist. In fact, and this is the second thing I wanted to warn you about, I plan to officially introduce you to them as my girlfriend”

Your eyes open wide while blushing.

“O-Oh, okay”, you exhale a nervous laugh, “although you better give me some quick rules of proper etiquette because I have no idea about how to act in a gala party”

Doflamingo bursts out laughing.

“My dear (y/n), I can assure you that you don’t need to learn anything. One of the advantages of being in the Family is that no rules applies for them, and if someone dares to criticize a member for it, I’ll be sure to take action on the matter”

You offer Doflamingo a relieved smile.

“Alright. However since it’s a rather important party I’ll still go shopping with Rebecca to look something presentable to wear”

“Oh, now that you mention that…”, you are surprised when Doflamingo extracts a golden credit card from his pocket and offers it to you, “…this is for you to use”

You look at the card and at Doflamingo alternatively before half-closing your eyes with suspicion.

“Wait a minute, how much money are you giving me?”

“Just the necessary so that you can buy something of your liking for the party”

“Okay, and how much is ‘just the necessary’?”

Doflamingo says a disproportionate number with a completely casual tone that causes your eyes to snap open.

“B-But are you crazy? I could buy a whole shop with that money!”

“If you go to a normal shop probably yes, but I’ve left already arranged that you go to _this_ shop to buy what you need”, Doflamingo offers you a second card with the direction of the shop and his signature on it, “give this to the owner and she will help you in all you need”

“Doffy, this is one of the most expensive shops in the town”

“(y/n), the best part of being rich is being able to spend your money the way you want, and right now I want to spend it in _you_. In fact, you must know that I’ve told the owner to inform me in case you don’t spend at least half of the money than I’m giving you, so you better use this card to your heart content” 

You exhale a sigh before accepting the card with a smile.

“Well, I guess this is better than letting _you_ choose my clothing. Last time it was a disaster”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your ironic comment.

“At that time I just wanted to see how you were going to react. Although, as I already told you then”, Doflamingo grabs you chin between his fingers and approaches his face to you, “I wouldn’t mind to see you dressed like that in private”

You gulp when hearing Doflamingo’s seductive tone. Your eyes deviate to Doflamingo’s tempting lips, seriously considering the idea of crawling into the man’s lap in this precise moment to kiss him hard, because you had the feeling that in case of following that rather primal impulse there was a high possibility of you two using that couch where you were sitting in a quite a different way.

However, just when you are about to lean forward a couple of knocks sound at the door, destroying rather effectively the undeniable sexual tension that had settled between you two.

“Yes?”, Doflamingo asks without bothering to hide his impatience.

“Doffy, sorry to bother you, but the client has just answered. He asks if we can reunite with him in half-an-hour”

Doflamingo sighs with annoyance when hearing Diamante, and even if you feel a little frustrated you were as well in not being the only one in feeling that way. 

“Alright, begin to prepare everything to contact him”, Doflamingo directs his next words to you, “I have to go. I’m going to be pretty busy these two days so the next time I see you would be in the super big party”

You laugh when Doflamingo borrows your previous words.

“Okay. And don’t worry about the card: I’ll make sure to pick the most expensive dress in the shop if that makes you happy”

Doflamingo chuckles when you use a purposely obliging tone and kisses you before leaving towards the meeting room. You come back to your office but before entering you send a quick message to Rebecca.

[ ** _Becca, are you free tomorrow to go shopping? I need your help to choose a dress ^^U_** ]

You smile when your mobile sounds less two seconds later. You don’t need to read the message to know what Rebecca’s answer is.

* * *

If Rebecca was already happy because, for once, you wanted to go shopping voluntarily, when you told her the name of the shop where you were going to go _and_ the money that you were obliged to spend, the girl almost faints.

In fact, when you arrive Rebecca was still squeaking in such a way that you had to convince the owner of the shop that there was nothing wrong with your hyperventilating friend.

“Becca, please, calm down”, you hiss while several rich-looking people stare at you two with curiosity, probably wondering why two completely normal-looking girls were in such a place, “for goodness sake, we are just going to buy a dress!”

“ _We are just going to buy a dress_? Oh, (y/n), you don’t understand!”, Rebecca signals with a wide gesture the gigantic shop of multiple floors with her eyes bright, “this is the shop where every fashion lover dreams to go one day! Here we can find the worldwide labels of highest quality! Just the most important, famous and horribly rich people are able to buy in such a place and _WE_ are here now!”, Rebecca shakes you with force, “damn, don’t you see how damn lucky you are, you silly?!”

“I-I get it, I get it!”, you manage to stop Rebecca for keeping shaking you, “I understand this is a really good place…”

“ _Good place_?! That isn’t enough to describe it!”

“...but until now my main criteria when choosing a clothing is to pay attention if it’s comfortable in the first place and pretty in the second. You know that I don’t have any fashion sense at all. And for that reason”, you solemnly place a hand over Rebecca’s shoulder, “you are here”

Rebecca rolls her eyes with patience but she is smiling when talking next.

“Seriously, (y/n), I should be the one in being with Doflamingo. I would be able to appreciate his gifts more”

“Hah! Sorry, but he is taken already and I don’t plan to let him go”

Rebecca laughs when hearing your vehement answer.

“Okay then, now that I’ve calmed down more or less let’s begin. We have a loooot to do”, Rebecca begins to walk rapidly while enumerating with her fingers, “We are going to see _every_ dress that they have on stock but begin to think what color you would like to wear. And once we have that we’ll search the shoes, the accessories, the make-up…”

“W-Wait, all of that?!”, you say, barely able to follow Rebecca, who was almost flying between the numerous shop corridors, “I thought that buying a dress would be more than enough. After all I already have shoes and you can always lend me some of your accessories”

Rebecca looks at you with a patient expression.

“Well, fortunately I am here to tell you how mistaken you are. Obviously, the choice of the dress is crucial if you want to be stunning for the party, since it’s the first thing that people will notice when looking at you, but it’s not the only thing: the complements that you wear are as much important, maybe even more, and they must fit _perfectly_ with the dress or they will be horribly off. Oh, and I know what you answer is going to be, but if you’d let me…”, Rebecca smiles knowingly, “…I would be able to dress you in a way that would make your dear Doffy have difficulties in keeping his hands off you”

This time, instead of the huff or the sulking reply that Rebecca was expecting, she only obtains a loud gulp from you.

“A-Actually...”, you start talking with an hesitant tone but at the end you decide to go for it, although blushing in the process, “…that’s exactly what I want”

If you were in a child cartoon, Rebecca’s jaw would have hit the floor for sure, and certainly you couldn’t blame the girl for her reaction.

“ _WHAT_?!”

“ _Sssh_ , not so loud! The whole shop is going to hear you!”

“S-Sorry, but I wasn’t expecting that at all! Last time I suggested you to take the next step with Doflamingo you just blushed and changed the subject, so what’s made you change your mind?”

You clear your throat a little awkwardly before talking.

“Okay, you are going to kill me for not telling you before: remember when Doffy invited me to have lunch?”

“Yes, that’s the day when he told you about his past in your room”, Rebecca’s mouth falls opened even more, “Wait…a…minute, are your telling me that while you were there you already-”

“No, we haven’t done anything yet”, you interrupt Rebecca, preventing her from finishing the sentence, “Corazon called him when things were beginning to…umh…get interesting, but I’m pretty sure that if he hadn’t interrupted us we would…umh…you know…”

“(y/n), you are 24 already, I think you can say _that_ without blushing”

“Argh, FINE: we would have had _sex_ , happy?”

“Yep, although we still have to work on the blushing part”

You roll your eyes but you are fighting not to smile when Rebecca begins to laugh.

“You are so cute when being embarrassed”, Rebecca says pinching your cheek with affection, “okay then, now that we know that you want to sleep with Doflamingo some things have changed”

“Becca, I _beg_ you, lower your voice!”

“Sooo when choosing the dress we have to make sure that it is sexy _but_ also elegant. Oh, and we should totally add ‘sexy underwear’ to the list of things we have to buy, because sorry, (y/n), but the panties that you usually wear aren’t good enough”

“Becca…”

“Oh, so you prefer to wear the dress without underwear? I think that’s a little risky but depending on how things go in the party it can come in handy”

“ _Becca_!”

“For goodness sake, you’re going to wear my name out! Oh, and don’t forget that we have to stop in the pharmacy after this. After all I don’t think you want a little Doflamingo in your life just yet, it’s too soon for that”

You exhale a patient sigh while Rebecca keeps talking non-stop. It promised to be a rather long (although amusing) afternoon.

* * *

“Ma’am, we have arrived”

You have to suppress a smile when the taxi driver speaks to you with an extremely polite tone, because you were pretty sure that if you were dressed as usual, the man would have only told you how much it was with a way more normal tone.

You extract with difficulty your purse from your extremely beautiful but horribly small new handbag (you have literally sweated to put your most important things inside) and pay the driver. You are about to open the door to get out the car but the man insists in getting out to open your door for you. You thank him with a smile and he inclines briefly his head before coming back to his car. Well, you could surely get used to be treated like this, although you could perfectly pass without the two hours of getting ready for the inauguration party.

You see several well dressed people entering the company, so it seemed that you have arrived just in time. You walk carefully inside the building (the shoes you wear are also new and you hadn’t tamed them yet) and the moment you enter you see Jora greeting everyone while indicating the way to the elevator.

“Ma’am, sir, welcome, thank you for coming. Sir, we are really pleased that you are he-”, suddenly Jora notices you and she immediately stops greeting one of the guests to talk to you, “oh, dear, you are fabulous! Well, of course a little more of color would be better, but still you are beautiful”

You exhale an embarrassed laugh when Jora circles around you while humming in approbation. The woman’s enthusiastic reaction causes everyone to focus on you as well, causing you to blush slightly because of the attention.

“Thank you, Jora”, you say when the woman is again standing in front of you, “is everyone here already?”

“Yes, almost everyone but Lao G, Machvise, Gladius and the Young Master”

Your eyes open wide.

“What? Doffy isn’t here yet?”

“He needed to go to a last minute reunion, for that reason he couldn’t send Lao G to take you, but he hoped to be here soon”

After talking to Jora a little more you finally ride the elevator up to the gigantic terrace that was on the roof, where the cocktail was going to take place. Despite you were in a fifty floor and the terrace was completely glazed, the temperature of the place was just perfect. It didn’t look as if it was already November at all, and in fact the moment you enter you remove the coat that you were wearing and leave it in the cloakroom that had been disposed just in the entrance of the terrace.

You observe with nervousness the crowd that was gathered there already and decide to immediately search for any familiar faces, since the last thing you wanted was that a perfect stranger began to talk to you forcing you to listen with a polite fake smile. Fortunately, someone up there seems to listen to your prayers and in less than a minute you see Baby 5 and Buffalo in one of the tables, so you walk the fastest you can (without tripping) towards them.

“Hey”, you greet in your usual way when you are near them, and just then you realize that Baby 5 is staring with heart-shaped eyes at some point in one of the opposite tables, “umh…Baby 5?”

“Let her be”, Buffalo says with a resigned tone, “she has just found a new crush”

“Really? Who?”, you ask with curiosity.

“You see that man with brown hair and sideburns? The one who is beside that gigantic old man with long white moustache? That one”

You half-close your eyes to see the man batter, and now that you are paying more attention you notice that he is throwing awkward side glances at Baby 5, as if he was a little uncomfortable under the girl’s intense gaze.

“But do they know each other at least?”

“No, but the man had had the bad luck of spilling some water on the table and when Baby 5 had helped him to dry it he has said: ‘Thanks for your _help’_. You can guess what’s happened afterwards”

You chuckle when Buffalo exhales a sigh while seeing Baby 5 waving her hand amorously towards the poor man, who didn’t know where to look anymore.

“Oh, don’t tell that she has fallen in love _again_ ”

You turn around when hearing that familiar sweat voice and see Viola standing there holding hands with Sugar.

“Yep, she has”, Buffalo answers, “this time with the grandson of Chinjao”

“With Sai? Well, it’s way better than her previous ‘boyfriends’”

“(y/n)”, you are surprised when Sugar suddenly speaks to you, “have you seen that idiot Dellinger?”

Your eyes open wide in fear when noticing that the girl is carrying her usual basket of grapes as full as usual. Okaay, you better remember not to get close to Dellinger too much to avoid your dress to get stained with grape juice.

“N-No, I haven’t”, you ask nervously even if you are saying the truth.

“Sugar, sweetie, what have you promised me before?”, Viola says with a light reproachful tone, causing Sugar to puff her cheeks while pouting.

“That I’d wait to be home to throw grapes at the stupid Delly”

“Exactly. Good girl”

You smile when Viola pets the girl’s head while she keeps sulking. You are about to ironically praise Viola’s educational method to deal with the kids when you suddenly pinpoint certain brunette man standing alone next to one of the tables and looking almost as uncomfortable as Baby 5’s new crush.

“Alright, I’m going for a while”, you announce, “there is someone I want to say hello”

“Oh, I see”, Viola says with amusement, looking towards Law, who now has his arms crossed in front of him clearly announcing the world that he didn’t want to be bothered, “we’ll be here for now, making sure that Baby 5 doesn’t stalk too much at that poor man. And by the way”, Viola whisper her next sentence so that you are the only one in hearing it, “I’m sure that Doffy will be speechless when seeing you”

You blush when Viola says that sincerely, really hoping that she was right. The four hours that Rebecca and you spent on the shop yesterday had to be of use, although you had to admit that even if you two ended extremely tired you had a lot of fun.

You thank Viola with a smile that she returns before walking towards the doctor, and he is so focused in not standing out too much that you can approach him without him to notice.

“Hey, doc!”

You greet him with a cheery tone while placing your hand over the man’s shoulder, and you aren’t disappointed by Law’s reaction because he exhales a shocked brief shout before cursing.

“Damn, (y/n)-ya, do you want to kill me?”, Law says with a breathless tone while you bend over to laugh to your heart content.

“Sorry”, you say between laughs despite the man is glaring at you, “you were so distracted that I’ve been unable to resist”

Law huffs but when he talks next he is smiling with relief.

“I forgive you because you’ve just rescued me. Not like the idiot Cora-san, that has abandoned me here”

“Yes, I was wondering, where is he?”, you say, finally taking a canapé while Law refills his glass.

“Yes, but just two minutes after arriving here he has stained his shirt and has gone to the bathroom to try to fix it. It’s been ten minutes since then, I’m about to go to see if he is alright”

“Well, maybe the stain was just an excuse and Corazon is waiting for you there”

Law begins to laugh when hearing your casual comment.

“It’s Cora-san we are talking about, (y/n)-ya. He is way too innocent to come up with such an idea, believe me”

“Maybe, but your Donquixote is not that innocent if he has done _that_ to you”, you say casually pointing at a certain mark that is adorning the side of Trafalgar’s neck and that causes the man to blush just lightly before smiling.

“I’ve said that he is innocent, not that he doesn’t learn fast”

You laugh when hearing Law’s answer.

“And what about _your_ Donquixote?”, Trafalgar inquires with a smile, “I haven’t seen him around here”

“He isn’t here yet, duty calls”, you answer, taking another canapé from the table, “but Jora has told me that it shouldn’t take him so much to arrive”

Law nods to himself.

“Cora-san told me that you have learnt about his past, and…”, Law’s tone turns a little guilty, “…I think I should apologize because when you asked me if I knew about it, I lied”

“Don’t worry about it”, you say with a smile that causes Law to relax again, “it was better to ask Doffy directly”

Law’s smile turns suddenly amused.

“Yes, Cora-san told me that the talk went well, although Doflamingo almost killed him later for having called while you were… _talking_ ”

It’s your time to blush.

“Okay, I’ll let that pass because I’ve teased you before with Corazon”

Law laughs when hearing your obliging tone before his eyes fix on a point behind you.

“Well, it seemed that your boyfriend has just arrived”

When hearing Law’s comment you rapidly turn around, and your heart skips a beat when seeing Doflamingo steps out of the elevator, followed by Gladius and Machvise. However, you just manage to catch a glimpse of Doflamingo before a whole crowd of people approach the man to greet him and probably to fawn over him a little. It seemed that you had to wait a little before being able to speak to Doflamingo.

You bite your bottom lip with impatience, watching Doflamingo on the distance while he deals with his associates. Since he is practically surrounded he hasn’t noticed you yet, but for the brief way he is greeting everyone he was going to do it really soon, and for that reason an inevitable nervousness settles in your stomach because yes, a lot of people had told you how beautiful you were, but you hadn’t noticed until now how badly you wanted Doflamingo to tell you that as well.

It takes the crowd that is surrendering Doflamingo a couple of minutes to dissipate, and you hold your breath when you see him discretely looking around, as if he was searching for something.

After some seconds that look like hours, Doflamingo _finally_ turns towards your direction and you feel your heart miss a beat when seeing the man clearly facing you. At first you aren’t completely sure if he is really looking at you, the glasses that he is wearing prevent you from doing that, but when you clearly see how his mouth hangs slightly opened for a brief second before recovering his neutral expression _and_ how he subtly licks his bottom lip in a really familiar exciting way, you deduce that yes, Doflamingo is looking at you and he is definitely _liking_ what he is seeing, and god if you don’t feel the happiest girl of the world at this moment because of it.

“Well, I think that certain someone is going to appreciate having you for himself”, Law says with a casual tone while offering you a knowing smile, “so I’ll look for another talkative partner. Enjoy the rest of the party, (y/n)-ya. Although I dare to assume that you’ll enjoy the after party even more”

You half-close your eyes at the doctor but he simply winks at you playfully before elegantly taking his leave, leaving you with a hint of a smile in your lips before your attention is focused exclusively on the blonde man that is now approaching with a smirk on his face that causes you to feel nervous and excited at the same time with every step he takes towards you.

In some seconds Doflamingo is just in front of you. For a moment you expect him to kiss you passionately in front of everyone as he had done a couple of times in the past, but this time he doesn’t do so. He just stays in front of you, contemplating you, and even if he had his glasses on you could perfectly feel the way his eyes were literally undressing you, as if he wanted to eat you right then and there, and damn, you also wanted that badly, but right now the tension that has just thickly settled between you two was too overwhelming, which causes you to talk a little nervously.

“What, cat got your tongue?”

Fortunately your comment causes Doflamingo to laugh and you can feel yourself relaxing although just a little, since the tension was still there, surrounding you both.

“Not exactly a cat”, Doflamingo replies with amusement, “I am glad to see that you have made good use of the card I gave you”

“Yes, Rebecca made sure I did”, you say before smiling, “so I hope you like how unfairly I’ve spent your money”

Doflamingo chuckles.

“First of all, you haven’t ‘unfairly’ used any money, since from now on what’s mine is yours. And second…”

Your heart skips a beat for a moment when Doflamingo leans forward, thinking for a moment that he was going to kiss you, but instead of doing that he whispers his next words in your ear.

“If we didn’t have to spend some time speaking with all these boring people, I would be glad to privately show you how much I _love_ what you are wearing now”

You feel your body heat up even if Doflamingo doesn’t do anything but talking. Damn, you really wanted to kiss him _and_ to be kissed by him, but for the way Doflamingo smirks while incorporating again it seemed that he was in a teasing mood and that you’d have to wait for that, which was a little frustrating even if the way you were flirting right now was rather pleasant as well.

“So what do you think about the super big party?”, Doflamingo inquires incorporating again and taking a glass of wine from the table, “do you think you could get used to assist to this kind of events more often?”

“Well, as long as the food is this good and I’m not the one in charge of the socialization yes, I could”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your answer while you take your third canapé. Definitely they tasted awesome, even if you didn’t recognize very well the ingredients they had.

“I see though that you don’t dare to try adults drink yet”

You half-close your eyes at Doflamingo while he takes a sip of his drink with a smirk.

“Very well”, you accept the unsaid challenge by taking a glass of red wine and drinking a little. You manage to keep your face imperturbable for almost two seconds before making a grimace, “nope”

Doflamingo bursts out laughing when you hurriedly return the glass to the table again while rapidly taking another canapé to remove the taste of the liquid from your mouth, and your idiotic boyfriend just laughs even more when you exhale a relieved sigh while the new flavor invades your mouth replacing the previous one.

“Alright, next time that we prepare a party I’ll tell Jora to consult you first to include your favorite drinks”

“Sorry, your girlfriend isn’t the most refined woman in the world”, you say with an embarrassed smile, and your heart skip a beat when Doflamingo suddenly encloses an arm around your waist.

“Maybe you are right, but I wouldn’t want her in any other way”

You blush when Doflamingo kisses your temple naturally, causing several people to begin to murmur while looking at you both with their eyes open wide.

“People is staring at us”

“I know”

“Shouldn’t you tell them that I am your girlfriend so that they stop murmuring?”

“Yes, I should, but it’s funny seeing them gossiping without daring to ask”

You chuckle when hearing Doflamingo because you had to admit that he was right, and even if it was childish you felt incredibly well by seeing the looks of jealousy that several women were throwing at you at this moment.

“Here you are at last! There are so many people that I feared not to see you tonight”

Suddenly, Corazon appears next to you with a wide smile. He was also wearing a black suit just like his brother although with a white light pink shirt that had a gigantic stain on its front.

“Oh god, I think you shouldn’t have tried to clean it”, you say, feeling pity for the poor shirt.

“Yeah, Law has told me that too”, Corazon says while looking behind, and you realize at that moment that Law is somewhat hiding behind Corazon’s back, looking more than a little embarrassed, and you believed to know the reason for it.

“Hi, doc”, you say with a teasing smile, “I wasn’t expecting seeing you after leaving in such an awesome way”

“Shut up, Cora-san has insisted in talking to you two”

You burst out laughing when hearing Law’s sulking answer while the Donquixote brothers look at you two slightly confused.

Eventually not just Corazon and Law but also other members of the family join you as well. Trebol approaches you to say hello but almost immediately he begins to eat the canapés of the table. Fortunately, Pica and Diamante manage to rescue a couple of trays before Trebol leaves the table practically empty of food.

You also talk to Senor Pink, or better said Senor Pink one-sided flirts with you even if Doflamingo hasn’t released you in any moment, although the man didn’t look bothered in the least by that since he was already more than used to Senor Pink’s flirting incontinence. You just manage to speak briefly to Viola though, because the poor woman had enough trying to prevent Sugar from practicing her grape-throwing skills not just with Dellinger but also with all the guests of the party that she didn’t like.

At some point Jora finally joins the party as well after having welcomed all the guests, and she talks briefly to Doflamingo to announce him that the truly important associates have just arrived.

“Alright, (y/n), I think we can’t delay your introduction to society any longer”, Doflamingo says jokingly, “are you up to a little more of socialization?”

You chuckle and nod.

“Yes, I am. Although give me just a moment”

Doflamingo looks at you with curiosity while you open your handbag. You feel your hands trembling just lightly for what you are about to do but you manage to extract a couple of sunglasses and put them on with an acceptable level of casualness.

You look at Doflamingo through them, fearing a little his reaction, but you have to suppress a smirk when seeing the way Doflamingo’s mouth falls lightly opened once again.

“Oh, in case you are wondering yes, these are the glasses that you gave me, although with some modifications in the design”, with a purposely slow movement you grab one of the legs of the glasses and lowers them down to look at Doflamingo directly over the lenses, “can I wear them while meeting your associates?”

You are proud of yourself when you manage to say all that without barely blushing and with a tone that is acceptably seductive for a newbie like you. You would be lying if you’d say that you hadn’t practiced that sentence several times in front of the mirror, as lame as that probably sounded, but the only thing that mattered now was if it was going to have in Doflamingo the effect that you hoped I’d have.

For a moment, Doflamingo doesn’t say anything. He just looks at you, in silence, but then he exhales a long sigh while talking with a voice that was just a little lower than usual.

“Oh yes, my dear (y/n). Of course you can”

You feel your hopes sinking a little because even if it was evident that Doflamingo had liked the sight of you with sunglasses you had expected a better reaction, one similar to the way Doflamingo had reacted when seeing you in that dress. But hey, you couldn’t force the man to react the way _you_ wanted, so after getting over your disappointment you accept Doflamingo’s arm and accompany him to meet his associates. After all, it was time for them to meet Donquixote Doflamingo’s girlfriend.

* * *

The rest hour and half is a little tedious, since you are introduced to almost a hundred of people that you were probably going to forget that same night. Also, after the introductions are done a journalist that was around there asked to take some pictures of Doflamingo and the Family, so you spent another twenty minutes being blinded by flashes and with your smile almost frozen because of the multiple pictures of multiple angles that the man took of everyone.

Also, the man asked to take a picture just of Doflamingo and you. Obviously, everyone was staring without any dissimulation at you two while the photograph worked, but even if you felt a little embarrassed because you weren’t used to attract so many attention the fact that Doflamingo was just there with you helped you not to feel too overwhelmed, so after several attempts the man managed to take a rather good picture of Doflamingo and you facing to the camera, Doflamingo’s arm around your waist and your hand grabbing the one Doflamingo’s had settled on your hip.

When the socialization was finally over already, you came back with the family to finally be able to relax. However, since it was already rather late and the food and the drinks were about to run out, Jora thanked everyone for their assistance and kindly asked them to begin to abandon the terrace.

Jora left indications to the hired cleaners and waiters so that they left the terrace clean and the whole Family, Corazon, Law and you finally called it a night as well.

“Nice party, Doffy”, Corazon commented in the ride down the elevator, “Law says that there was too much bread but apart from that it was perfect”

“Cora-san!”, Law exclaims, blushing lightly, but Doflamingo just chuckles when hearing his brother’s comment.

“(y/n) can’t stand the wine, your doctor can’t stand the bread”, Doflamingo’s tone becomes teasing, “youngers these days are too delicate”

Law and you interchange a patient glance while the Donquixote brothers laugh at you two.

When you are finally out the building you immediately put your coat on, since the night has turned a little colder. You rub your arms over your clothing, trying to get them warmer, but you don’t do it for much time because almost immediately Doflamingo encloses your arms around you from behind, effectively warming you in no time.

“Well, we better go before someone freezes out here”, Corazon says with an amused smile when seeing you tremble lightly between Doflamingo’s arms, “(y/n), do you want Law and me to accompany you home? My apartment is in that direction”

You feel your heart begin to beat with nervousness while considering what to answer. A part of you had expected that things with Doflamingo turned out in a way that caused both of you to end in his manor. In fact that night Rebecca had told you that she assumed that you were going to sleep over, but you couldn’t say that aloud!

“Don’t worry, little brother. I’ll take care of that”

You gulp because Doflamingo’s question and tone couldn’t be more ambiguous. Did that mean that you were going home or that you were going to the manor? You didn’t know!

After Corazon and Law say goodbye to everyone, Lao G appears with a gigantic limousine for 14 people. However, since Pica, Gladius and Trebol weren’t precisely small some arrangements are necessary so that all of you can fit inside, so Viola sits with Sugar in her lap and you between Doflamingo’s legs.

“This brings memories”

You turn your head back to smile at Doflamingo when he comments that with a joking tone, since he was obviously referring to the ‘dare’ you had to do at the party. You are about to answer that at that time he was a damn bully for teasing you so much but the family wasn’t precisely quiet so you decide that answering while shouting wasn’t the best option and decide to lean against the man’s chest, holding hands while Doflamingo absentmindedly looks outside the window.

Even if the trip lasts barely fifteen seconds, it’s enough time so that you began to doze off against Doflamingo’s comfortable body. Fortunately, you arrive at your destination just before falling asleep, and the moment you see the outline of Doflamingo’s manor you tense up automatically, nervousness settling in your stomach because the moment of knowing what you were going to do was imminent, although considering how things seemed to have cooled off between Doflamingo and you through the night, you assume that the night was really over and that you were going to eventually sleep home.

“Okay, children, time to sleep. And I don’t want to hear any complains”, Viola says while Sugar and Dellinger automatically start protesting.

“I think I’m going to have something to eat before sleeping”

“Good idea, Pica”, Diamante agrees, “thanks to Trebol I feel like I haven’t eaten anything”

“Behehehe! It’s your fault for being so slow in picking up food”

One by one the members of the Donqixote Family begin to step out the car until just Doflamingo and you remain inside. When that happens, you make the gesture of taking one of the numerous seats that are now empty but you are surprised when Doflamingo stops you from doing so.

“Youn-G Master, I’m G-oin-G to verify the wheels for a moment if you excuse me”

You frown with confusion when Lao G steps out the car as well, closing the door of the chauffer in the process.

“And does he need us to be here while he verifies tha-?”

You are interrupted midsentence when without warning Doflamingo grabs your chin with one hand and forces you to turn your head towards him to deposit a long hard kiss in your mouth, his tongue sneaking between your surprised parted lips to taste you with almost violence, causing your stomach to clench in painful desire.

Oh god, _yes_ , you think while kissing back with enthusiasm, your eyes closing on their own to enjoy Doflamingo’s lips against yours. You have been wanting to be kissed like that all during all the night.

“You are really cruel, (y/n)”

Doflamingo purrs that sentence before his lips trail lower along your jaw to land in your neck, the tickling sensation causing you to grab Doflamingo’s legs on either side of your body with force.

“First, you try to seduce me dressing like _this_ , and not being happy enough with that then you tempt me even more while wearing _my_ glasses in public”, Doflamingo’s voice lowers an octave, his tone now full of barely contained hunger, “do you ever know how much I’ve had to hold back?”

Your mouth half-opens in a gasp when Doflamingo sucks at your neck viciously, probably leaving a mark. Okay, you’ve been horribly wrong. Things between Doflamingo and you hadn’t cooled off in the least, he had just been restraining himself until now, and god if that knowledge didn’t make you feel even more aroused.

Doflamingo’s hands begin to ascend through your legs with calculated slowness and you almost dig your nails on Doflamingo’s legs when realizing where his hands were going.

“Wait”, you exhale, settling your own hands over Doflamingo’s ones, preventing him from keeping advancing.

Doflamingo stops abusing your neck and chuckles low in his throat.

“My dear, I think we’ve waited more than enough. Or are you really going to tell me…”, Doflamingo sensually licks your earlobe before whispering his next words in a throaty tone that causes your core itself to twitch, “…that you don’t want _more_ than this?”

You bite your bottom lip when Doflamingo keeps his hands still but begins to rotate his thumbs over your inner thighs, his fingers ending way too close to your lower half without actually touching, causing all your body to be in a frustrating though exciting tension.

Damn it. Of course you wanted this.

No, it was as he had said: you _craved_ more than this.

“So?”,  Doflamingo asks casually against your ear, “what is your answer, (y/n)?”

Despite you feel all your body in fire you can’t help to smile when recognizing those words. They were the same Doflamingo had used when coaxing you to finally accept your feelings for him, so it was really appropriate that he used them again in this situation. Therefore, it did make sense that you’d give the same answer, so with a soft moan you turn your head and attack Doflamingo’s mouth heatedly, making sure to put all your passion into the kiss.

You feel deep satisfaction when your action causes Doflamingo to grunt lowly in the back of his throat, that sound reverberating in your own mouth. Doflamingo’s hands bury in your thighs while kissing you back, the kiss growing in intensity and need in a matter of seconds.

After some moments of wild kissing you are forced to stop to gather some air. A shiver travels down your spine when Doflamingo licks slowly his lips before speaking with a tone filled with a lust that he doesn’t bother to hide.

“Fufufu~. Perfect answer, young lady”

Your heart is practically about to leave your chest by then but you return the smirk that Doflamingo is offering you, and that carries a lot of promises that make you shudder again.

You were wrong before. The night wasn’t close to be over. And you couldn’t possibly feel more excited for what it was about to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I’ve left the chapter in the best part ( _*evil laugh*_ ), but I promise that the next chapter will be out sooner than usual (I hope to have it ready in a week at most) aaand that you will finally have your sexy time with Doffy, this time without any annoying interruptions :P


	15. King-size bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Doflamingo finally test his king-sized bed ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING** : **NSFW**. And the rating of the fic is now **E** , just in case someone hasn’t noticed it :D

When you and Doflamingo finally step out the limousine and you see Lao G patiently waiting outside with his hands joined behind his back, you deduce that you were correct when assuming that the man had just made up the excuse of checking the wheels to give Doflamingo and you some privacy, even if the old man’s expression while desiring you two a good night was as imperturbable as always.

Doflamingo and you don’t speak too much after entering the manor, but the way he is tightly surrounding your waist indicates that Doflamingo hasn’t the least intention of letting you go that night, thing that was (you couldn’t deny it) extremely arousing.

On the way to Doflamingo’s private room you run into several members of the Donquixote Family that were going to go to sleep. You get prepared to receive some teasing comments but to your surprise all of them simply say you two ‘goodnight’ with a completely natural tone, with the only exception of Viola, who playfully winks at you with a knowing smile on her face. Definitely, Rebecca couldn’t deny that she was Viola’s niece. Those two behaved really likely.

After climbing two flights of stairs Doflamingo finally stops in front of a big wooden door. He releases you briefly to open it and, as always, he allows you to enter first. You find a wave of nervousness installing in your stomach and your heart beginning to beat rapidly while stepping inside the room now that the ‘moment of truth’ (as you internally called it) had come.

You look around Doflamingo’s room but you don’t have time to pay much attention to all the details because your eyes automatically fix in the impressive bed situated against the wall, just next to a large window. Well, Doflamingo wasn’t lying when commenting that you two could fit in that bed without touching each other. You were certain that you could sleep with two or three friends in there rather comfortably.

While you admire the piece of the furniture Doflamingo closes the door behind him and claps his hands once softly to cause a dim light to illuminate the whole room, giving it a perfect air of intimacy.

“Wow, so you can control lights with claps?”, you can’t help to ask in awe, causing Doflamingo to chuckle.

“Yes. All the rooms in the manor have this feature except Sugar’s. One day the girl almost broke the system in Dellinger’s one by clapping her hands like crazy”

You begin to laugh because you could perfectly picture Sugar doing that just to irritate Dellinger.

“I wonder how it works”, you can’t help to wonder, clapping your hands once to cause the lights to turn more intense, “I suppose that the system is prepared to detect certain sound waves”, you clap a couple more of times causing the lights to turn off and to turn on with the dim light again, “because if it was just based on the sound the light would turn on or off the moment it detected that a person is talking but that isn’t happen-”

Your conjectures are cut with a surprised gasp when two familiar hands settle in your hips from behind and you find yourself pressed against Doflamingo’s big body.

“(y/n), I deeply admire your professional curiosity about the lightning system of the room, but…”, your breath hitches when Doflamingo grasps the shell of your ear with his teeth, “…don’t you think that that kind of dissertation can wait to another time?”

You exhale an embarrassed laugh when hearing Doflamingo’s ironic comment.

“You are right”, you admit, settling your hands over Doflamingo’s ones and turning your head to face the man sideways, “but tomorrow I’ll keep investigating the matter”

Doflamingo chuckles with amusement.

“Oh, (y/n), who says…”, Doflamingo leans forward until your lips are almost touching, “…that I’m going to be satisfied _just_ with tonight?”

Your whole body shivers when Doflamingo kisses you hungrily, causing you to moan with excitation. Without stopping attacking your mouth Doflamingo slides your coat down your shoulders, letting it fall into the floor before settling his hands on the back of your dress with the clear intention of beginning to unzip it.

“O-One question”, you say suddenly, preventing Doflamingo from kissing you once again, “umh…is someone sleeping in the neighbor room?”

Doflamingo smirks with amusement.

“Don’t worry, (y/n). The private rooms of the manor have been made almost completely soundproof”

You blush intensely, admiring once again that man’s ability to read you as easily as an open book.

“Let me guess: before meeting me you were a Casanova and this was the only way so that the other could sleep?”

“No, but Trebol snores quite loudly, Pica sleeps-talks and sometimes Lao G awakes in the middle of the night to practice his martial arts, with attack-shouting included. And what you’ve said about being a Casanova that suits Senor Pink better than me”

You laugh when hearing Doflamino’s answer and turn around to finally face the man properly. You kiss him intensely while softly grabbing the front of his jacket. Doflamingo takes the hint and removes it, smirking.

“Do you want my glasses out too?”

You nod eagerly, causing Doflamingo to chuckle before removing his lenses to let you see those sharp brown eyes breathtakingly fixed on you. Doflamingo leaves the glasses on the nearest table and kisses you back passionately, his hands enclosing your waist and your arms surrounding his neck as the man makes you walk backwards, subtly leading you towards his king-size bed.

Your heart stops momentarily when the back of your legs hit the corner of the bed just to beat rapidly again when Doflamingo’s hands travel up your body to successfully begin to unzip your dress with frustrating slowness. You let him do and when the dress is completely loose Doflamingo steps back, giving you space to end removing it.

You do so, feeling your body temperature heat up when Doflamingo’s eyes shamelessly follow the garment join your coat in the floor, leaving you just in your underwear.

“J-Just so you know, you have also paid this”, you state nervously, signaling the remaining of your clothes, feeling almost overwhelmed with the way Doflamingo was ogling at you right now.

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your answer before bending down briefly to remove his shoes and socks, you doing the same with your heels.

“And you have dared to say tonight that you have unfairly spent my money”, Doflamingo surprises you by grabbing you briefly by the back of your thighs to make you fall against the bed with him looming over you, “I think my money have never been better spent”

After kissing you hardly, leaving you out of breath, Doflamingo incorporates to be in a kneeling position between your now opened legs, and your throat goes dry when he begins to unhurriedly unbutton his shirt, revealing first his strong neck, then his toned pectorals, and finally his sculpted abs.

You bite your bottom lip, being your turn to stare at the man without any shame. A part of you is tempted to ask Doflamingo not to remove completely his shirt but before being able to formulate your petition Doflamingo rolls back his shoulders to remove the clothing, the action causing his front muscles to flex lightly.

You exhale a long breath, your heart pounding hysterically in your chest because of that sinfully sexy sight. Shit, at this rate you are going to suffer a heart attack before ever beginning to do anything.

“(y/n), are you okay?”, the bed creaks lightly when Doflamingo crawls over you and places his hands against the mattress on either side of you head, “you’ve been looking nervous for a while but now you are trembling like a leaf”

You exhale a nervous laugh when hearing Doflamingo’s teasing comment.

“Y-Yeah, I am cool. It’s just that it has been quite a while since the last time I…well, since I did _anything_ like this”

Doflamingo hums to himself with amusement.

“And how much time is exactly that ‘quite a while’?”

You blush even more while answering. You fear that Doflamingo mocks you when hearing your answer but he manages to surprise you once again by simply nodding to himself before a wide grin adorns his face.

“Fufufu~. This is going to be really funny then”

Doflamingo leans over you and begins to lick at your neck, making you bite your bottom lip not to begin to moan so soon. You are going to enclose your arms around his back but you think about it better and decide to settle your hands in his front first, since you haven’t explored that part of his body as much as you’d liked.

Your hands roam over Doflamingo’s broad chest, tracing down his perfect defined abs, and the feeling of his firm muscles under your hands makes you incredibly aroused. And yes, maybe you should feel a little embarrassed for being groping Doflamingo so obviously, but what the hell: he is your boyfriend, you can touch him all you want.

“This is a little unfair, (y/n)”, Doflamingo says after some moments with an amused smile, “you can touch me directly but you still have _that_ on”

You gulp when realizing that Doflamingo is pointing with his chin at your bra. Certainly he was right, so with a little of nervousness you incorporate a little to remove the clothing. Doflamingo hums with satisfaction when your breasts are finally liberated from their confinement, and his gaze on you is so intense that you are about to cover yourself again.

Doflamingo seems to read your mind and with a grunt he pins your hands over your head and against the mattress, kissing you intensely once again. You shiver with pleasure when feeling his warm chest connecting with you bared one, an overwhelming heat invading your whole body.

Doflamingo keeps ravaging your mouth for several seconds before beginning to caress your neck again. Your stomach tightens in anticipation when Doflamingo kisses down your body until reaching your exposed breasts, guessing what Doflamingo was going to do next, but still when he encloses his mouth around one of your nipples and rolls his tongue over the perked bud your body arches against Doflamingo automatically, while exhaling a loud gasp that you hurry to muffle with your hand.

However, Doflamingo catches your arm in time, stopping you from covering your mouth.

“Oh, no, young lady”, you gasp again when Doflamingo sucks your now sensitive breast while cupping the other in his big hand to massage it as well, “I want to hear you whole~”

At first you feel extremely embarrassed for making so many sounds, but Doflamingo’s long tongue and fingers on your chest causes you to eventually push your shyness towards the window and openly enjoy Doflamingo’s ministrations. It was a pity that your eyes were shut closed because otherwise you would have seen Doflamingo’s lusty eyes drinking from every one of your expressions.

After some moments your legs open on their own and you begin to unconsciously grind up against Doflamingo, as if asking for more but in a different part of your body. You feel Doflamingo grin against your skin and then your eyes snap opened when feeling his fingers hooking in the border of your underwear with the clear intention of beginning to remove it.

“H-Hey”, you incorporate into a sitting position and stop him rapidly, settling your hands over his, “now _this_ is not fair. You still have your pants on!”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your accusing tone.

“Don’t worry, (y/n), I don’t plant to keep them on much longer. But first”, Doflamingo French-kisses you while making you lie on the bed again, “I want to taste you a little more”

You blush bright red when hearing his words and allow him to end removing your underwear, leaving you completely naked. You refrain yourself from covering you, since you know that Doflamingo wasn’t going to like that, but when the man licks his lips deliberately slow while opening your legs you can’t help it and cover your face with your hands. Oh god, what have you done to deserve such a boyfriend?!

“(y/n), what I said before about hearing you also applies to _see_ you”

You grunt but reluctantly remove your hands to see Doflamingo smirking at you.

“Much better”

You are about to retort with irony that you surely tomato-red face wasn’t the best thing to see but then Doflamingo dives down between your legs and you can’t do anything but whine loudly when Doflamingo’s tongue draws along your inner walls, making all your body shudder and your limbs tremble uncontrollably.

“ _God_ ”, you exhale, already breathless, reaching down with your hand to entangle your fingers on Doflamingo’s soft hair even if it was too damn short to have a proper grasp of it, “god, _Doffy_ ”

Doflamingo withdraws his tongue for a brief moment to speak.

“(y/n), calling me _that_ way just spurs me on”

His aroused low tone pushes you over the edge even more but still you manage to gather enough voice to answer back with irony.

“And how exactly should I call you? _Boss_?”

“Mmm, kinky~”

You are about to laugh when hearing him but you lose your capacity to do anything else than moan when Doflamingo begins to lick around your clit, causing your legs to be about to give up this time for real.

You keep moaning fragments of Doflamingo’s name while he keeps with his delicious torture. During the next minutes your pants become faster and faster, the knot in your stomach becoming almost painful until one last roll of Doflamingo’s tongue liberates it at once, making you reach the best toe-curling climax of your life.

You remain panting in the bed while the last waves of your orgasm wash over you, one hand over your eyes and the other still grabbing the mattress next to your hip. You hear Doflamingo moving from his position between your legs and the next thing you feel is his mouth eagerly devouring yours. You immediately open it for him, allowing him entrance. You can taste yourself in his mouth when your tongues dance together but even if the flavor is not the best in the world at that moment you couldn’t care less.

“Stay with me, (y/n)”, Doflamingo teases when seeing you having difficulties to keep your eyes opened, “it’s not time to sleep yet”

You laugh tiredly when hearing Doflamingo. It was a little ridiculous that you were the one in feeling tired when he had been the one in doing all the job until now, but damn it, it was his fault for being so good in leaving you in such a messed state!

“It’s your bed’s fault for being so comfortable”, you say instead of what you have just thought, causing Doflamingo to smirk.

“Then I just have to make sure to keep you awake”

Doflamingo steps momentarily out of the bed to _finally_ begin to remove his suit trousers, the sound of his zipper being unbuckled resounding in the now almost silent room. Doflamingo discards the rest of his clothes, ending completely naked, and your eyes automatically focus on his now half-hard member. You seriously try to keep an imperturbable face but it is difficult. Doflamingo isn’t precisely small but just the exact opposite, and you can’t help to think if _that_ was going to fit in _you_.

Part of your apprehension must show in your face because Doflamingo chuckles.

“Don’t make that scared face, (y/n). We haven’t finished yet”

Doflamingo opens the drawer of his nightstand to extract a small bottle of lube and a condom.

“You were awfully prepared”, you can’t help to point out with a smile, “let me guess: you also knew that this was going to happen”

“Yes, since that day in which my dear brother interrupted us in your apartment I was pretty sure that this will eventually happen”, Doflamingo crawls over you once again, “and I’ve made sure that this time we won’t be interrupted”

“Oh, have you turned off your mobile?”

“No: I’ve ordered to disconnect all the phones of the manor”

You begin to laugh but you don’t have time to ask him if he is joking because at that moment Doflamingo initiates a slow intense kiss that makes you forget what you were going to say. You let Doflamingo force your legs opened once again and you shiver when feeling his girth impatiently pocking at your inner thigh.

“Wait”, you say when Doflamingo begins to pour some of the sticky lube on his fingers, “it’s my turn now”

You point with your eyes at Doflamingo’s member and your determined gaze causes the man to laugh.

“Another time, (y/n). Tonight…”, Doflamingo nibs at your earlobe and you have to bite your bottom lip not whine, “…you are mine alone to satisfy”

Despite how damn hot Doflamingo’s words make you feel you want to protest because it was not fair in the least that he was doing everything. However, by now you have already learnt that fighting with Doflamingo required a level of willpower that you definitely don’t have after having being so utterly ravaged, so you promised to yourself that the next time you would be the one in leaving _him_ in a messed state because hell, there’s no charge for dreaming.

Your recent orgasm has left you rather loose and wet, which allows Doflamingo to enter two fingers practically with ease. However, when he tries to enter the third digit you unconsciously tense up, so Doflamingo begins to distract you by teasing your ears, neck and chest until you are relaxed enough to accommodate three fingers inside.

During the next minutes Doflamingo makes sure to prepare you well. At first, you have your arms enclosed against his powerful neck, but as the time passes you feel his member grow harder against your thigh, so after winning over your hesitation you reach down between your bodies.

Doflamingo’s breath hitches briefly during the kiss you are sharing when your hand closes around his pulsing warm flesh, not having expected your action. You fear for a moment that Doflamingo scolded you for having disobeyed his command of not doing anything but he simply exhales an appreciative grunt before undulating his hips against your hand, encouraging you to keep going.

You comply and begin to massage Doflamingo’s member up and down, up and down, gradually picking up speed. You have difficulties to properly get a hold of his whole length because of the angle, its thickness, and because Doflamingo keeps stretching you out with his fingers, but you more or less manage to adopt a satisfying leisurely rhythm that causes Doflamingo to grunt again with appreciation.

“Stubborn”, Doflamingo whispers against your ear, but his lusty eyes and content sighs tell you that he is indeed enjoying your ministrations, so you simply smile up at him with satisfaction.

“Look who is talking”, you whisper back before accepting Doflamingo’s new heated kiss with your mouth willingly open.

The preparation process takes a couple of more minutes and then you feel Doflamingo’s long fingers leaving your entrance. You take the hint and remove your tired hand from Doflamingo’s member. The man incorporates briefly to grab the condom from the nightstand to roll it down his erected manhood. He grabs again the bottle of lube and generously coats his covered member with the liquid. A heavy tension settles in your stomach when the bed creaks once again and Doflamingo situates between your parted and slightly trembling legs so that his member is pressing against your now slick entrance.

“You ready?”

“Yes”, you say without the least hint of doubt despite your heart is hammering in your own ears, “yes, I am ready”

Doflamingo nods, satisfied with your prompt answer, and after grabbing your hips with both hands he begins to enter you.

Immediately, your hands fly to grab his shoulders and you bite your bottom lip not to curse when feeling the first painful stretch. You have been expecting in to hurt but still it hurts _a lot_.

 “Can you handle it?”

You nod with confidence. Doflamingo wasn’t the kind of man who would whisper sweat words of encouragement while you were enduring the pain, but his now completely serious tone was enough prove of his concern for you, and that was all you needed to relax.

“Yes, I can”

Doflamingo smirks when hearing your determined tone and leans down to kiss you in the cheek.

“That’s my girl”

You suppress a whine when hearing those words whispered just in your ear, and the wave of arousal provoked for them allows Doflamingo to end entering you until being fully sheathed inside.

Doflamingo gives you all the time you need to adjust to him, allowing you to practically tear the skin off his shoulders without protesting, and after some long eternal moments the pain is finally bearable and you are confident enough to nod at Doflamingo, giving him permission to give the next step.

Doflamingo complies and begins to move inside and out of you, slowly. You can’t help to shiver when his brown eyes darkened with lust fix only on you, making you feel even more naked than you already were.

“Good?”, Doflamingo asks when the first moan finally escapes your mouth after several moments, and the lower tone that he uses causes you to feel another wave of arousal.

“Yes”, you say in a tone that comes up a little faltering because of Doflamingo still slow but uninterrupted movements.

“Faster?”

You nod again, causing Doflamingo to grin even wider before increasing the speed of his thrusts until setting his desired pace. Your hands fly to grasp the pillow on either side of your head when his thick member reaches deeper inside you, filling you completely just in the correct spots and causing you to moan long and loud without restrain.

Your stomach clenches with excitation when Doflamingo sensually licks his lips after hearing the sounds of pleasure that begin to fall from your mouth once again. He stops grabbing your hips and leans his hands against the mattress again, flushing his body against yours to slam into you with more ease.

Doflamingo’s hard pectorals and chiseled abs rub against your own burning skin with every coordinated rock of his hips. You can feel his hot breathing slightly labored just in your ear, and his occasional low aroused grunts are enough to give you goosebumps in all your body. The king size bed is now shaking because of the force of Doflamingo’s powerful onslaughts, banging desperately against the wall. Thank goodness that the room was partly soundproof because otherwise poor of the Donquixote member who was sleeping in the neighbor room.

“ _Ahn~_ ”, your arch against Doflamingo and crawl at his body with both hands when he reaches down with one of his hands to begin rub your clit once again, causing a wave of electrical pleasure to shake you whole, “oh yes, _Doffy_!”

Doflamingo growls when hearing you beg the last word, his member pulsing inside you.

“That’s it, (y/n)”, Doflamingo makes his tongue travel down your jaw to land on your neck, “call more my name like _that_ ”

Doflamingo doesn’t stop his tongue and hand for ever one second, determined to push you against another mind-blowing climax at a vertiginous pace. You keep exhaling Doflamingo’s name like a prayer between hard kisses and more and more urgent thrusts. You can feel yourself close to finish for second time that night so you try to delay your impeding need to come, but at the end that task becomes impossible and you reach your peak half-a-minute later while digging your nails in Doflamingo’s broad back, shouting his name with a long, drawn-out moan.

You keep clinging to Doflamingo after that, whining weakly when he keeps pounding into your now over-sensitized body. You are almost drowning in the afterglow of your intense orgasm and your energy has been completely spent, but you make your best to match Doflamingo’s pace, that finally is becoming a little erratic indicating that he is also about to reach completion.

A sudden idea manages to enter your fuzzy mind and you begin to lick around the zone where that gold earring is piercing Doflamingo’s ear, remembering that it was one of his few weak points, and it seems that your improvised teasing has an effect on him because at that moment Doflamingo snaps his hips against you in a final thrust and achieves his awaited release while howling your name.

You manage to keep your eyes open to see Doflamingo’s ecstatic expression while emptying inside you, but after enjoying that extremely sexy sight you exhale a long satisfied sigh and your eyes begin close on their own.

God. Just… _God_. Thank goodness that you weren’t in your apartment because otherwise your neighbors would be now wondering who the hell was that Doffy whose name you’ve been moaning non-stop until ending hoarse.

Doflamingo carefully gets out from you and after throwing away the used condom he lies on the bed next to you, leaning his head over one of his flexed arms and settling the other possessively over your waist.

“(y/n), you should feel embarrassed right now. A 24 years-old young lady should have more stamina than a 41 grown-up man”

You laugh tiredly when hearing Doflamingo’s teasing comment. You force your eyes open once again and turn to your side to be facing him and that smirk of his. Damn him, he didn’t look breathless in the least! The only sign that proved how wildly he has made love to you was his tan skin, glistening with a thin sheen of sweat that accentuated even more his muscles.  

“I have stamina”, you manage to reply laboredly when you finally stop staring at your boyfriend’s magnificent body, “but sorry if it’s just the typical of a normal person”

It’s Doflamingo’s turn to laugh when hearing your ironic reply.

“Fufufu~. In that case I warn you to be prepared, (y/n). Tonight I’ve held myself back since it had been ‘quite a while’ for you, but next time”, your mouth open wide in a silent moan when Doflamingo licks your earlobe tantalizingly slow, “I’m not letting you sleep through all the night”

You shiver when hearing his promising words but as tempting as they were, you could feel yourself dozing off already.

“Sounds good”, you eventually say before curling towards Doflamingo until you couldn’t be closer, “but as lame as it is this 24 years-old lady without stamina really needs to sleep, so for now let’s rest, sex beast”

Doflamingo laughs and embraces you with his free arm.

“So now are you going to call me _that_ from now own?”

You smile and shake your head with your eyes already closed.

“No”, you yawn, “I think I prefer to call you Doffy”

Doflamingo’s smirk grows.

“Oh, I know it, (y/n). You have proved that tonight more than enough”

By when Doflamingo teases you for being loud, tiredness has already reached you and you simply fall asleep between Doflamingo’s arms with a happy smile in your lips and Doflamingo’s characteristic laughter as a background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this time without interruptions :D Hope you have enjoyed it ~


	16. Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after your first time with Doffy.
> 
>  
> 
> **WARNING: NSFW**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB11wqyKFXXXXa9XXXXq6xXFXXXd/new-font-b-Robes-b-font-Hot-Sale-sleepwear-font-b-silk-b-font-font-b.jpg) is the robe I picture the reader wearing :D

When you wake up the next morning, the first thing that you feel is heat. Too much heat.

The second thing you notice is that you have difficulties to move because there is something around your waist, grabbing you tightly.

And the third thing you notice is that there is something hard but warm pressing against your bare back, something that is slightly moving up and down with an even rhythm, and that’s the moment when you finally snap out your woke up daze and realize that the culprit of all those sensations is no other than Doflamingo, who is peacefully sleeping literally stuck to you with one of his strong arms circling your waist.

You almost chuckle when you try to separate a little from Doflamingo and that just causes his grip to get even tighter, pressing you even more against his body, as if he wanted to prevent you from escaping. Funny, Doflamingo was possessive even while sleeping.

“Where do you think you’re going, dear?”

Your eyes snap opened while turning your head back and you find Doflamingo looking at you, his brown eyes still half-lidded but with a hint of mocking in them. Well, it seemed that Doflamingo wasn’t as asleep as you thought.

“Nowhere”, you answer with a smile, “I was just trying not to roast while being so close to you”

Doflamingo chuckles low in his throat when hearing your choice of words before leaning over to kiss you. You moan softly when his tongue joins yours to initiate an unhurried dance, one of your hands reaching back to grasp Doflamingo’s soft hair. Damn, you wouldn’t mind if he had his hair just a little longer. You really craved to grab it properly in moments like these.

“How are you feeling, by the way? Last night you fell sound asleep before I ever finished teasing you”

You chuckle while turning towards Doflamingo, facing him before continuing talking.

“I’m fine, so thank you for having held back. I promise that the next time I’ll be prepared for whatever you bring”

Doflamingo raises an amused eyebrow when hearing your last challenging words, that single action causing a shiver travel down your spine.

“Fufufu~, are you sure, (y/n)? Even if next time…”, your heart skips a bit when Doflamingo rolls you over and crawls over you, pressing you against the mattress, “…is right now?”

You bite your bottom lip with excitation when hearing Doflamingo’s more than suggestive tone, but you make sure to hold Doflamingo’s gaze while slowly opening your legs for him, allowing Doflamingo to settle more comfortably between them. You suppress a whine when feeling Doflamingo’s impressive morning erection pressing lightly against your folds, and you are proud of being able to use a daring tone while talking next even if your body was feeling already on fire.

 “I don’t know but…”, you enclose your hands around Doflamingo’s neck, “…I’m ready to find out”

You accompany your last sentence with a provocative buck of your hips that causes Doflamingo’s member to rub briefly against your womanhood. Doflamingo grunts and slowly licks his bottom lip appreciatively, lust clear in his now darker brown eyes, but just when he is going to lean down to join your mouths in a more than probable mind-blowing kiss, several rapid and loud steps begin to resound in the outside corridor, causing Doflamingo to stop just when your lips are about to meet.

“Oh, _damn_ ”

You have barely time to register Doflamingo rapidly recovering his previous position in the bed and pulling the blankets over you two before the door of the room snaps open to show an angry Dellinger and an equally enraged Sugar.

“Doffy, you have to punish Sugar right now, pleeease!”, Dellinger signals his completely drenched fitted pajama t-shirt, “she has thrown the whole bowl of cereals on me!”

“It’s your fault! You have begun by eating _my_ cookies!”

“They are not _yours_ , they are for _everyone_ , you selfish idiot!”

“But you know that grape cookies are my favorite and you have eaten them _on purpose_!”

“I haven’t!!”

“ _Yes, you have_!!!”

You stare with a dumbfounded expression how the two kids keep shouting at each other, making sure to keep the blanket against you so that they covered your naked body. You look at Doflamingo cautiously and see him rubbing his eyes in a little exasperated way just before another set of footsteps join the first ones and a breathless Viola appears in the door frame as well, with her normally perfect hair a little messed and wearing a violet robe that, you suspected, she had put in a hurry because it was inside-out.

“Oh my, I’ve arrived too late”, Viola says with mortification before turning towards Dellinger and Sugar with a frown, “kids, _enough_! What have I told you about entering someone’s room without knocking?!”

“B-But Delly-”

“B-But Sugar-”

“No _buts_! Now neither of you is going to eat _any_ cookies for breakfast and if you keep protesting you won’t be eating them in a whole _week_!”

Viola grabs Dellinger and Sugar by their respective arms while the children keep insulting each other between whispers and abandons the room with them after directing an apologetic ‘ _Sorry’_ to you both.

When the door closes behind Viola there is a brief silence before you decide to break it with a purposely cheery tone.

“Weeell, cookies for breakfast sounds great, don’t you think?”

Doflamingo bursts out laughing, not having expected your answer.

“In that case we should hurry and go before Trebol wakes up. I think you have noticed already that he has quite a monstrous appetite”

Doflamingo abandons the bed and stands in the floor in all his naked glory, and you have to make a serious effort to prevent your jaw from hanging open because _damn_ if your boyfriend wasn’t the sexiest man in earth.

“Y-Yes, he has”, you manage to answer after clearing your throat, “but before going could I take a quick shower first?”

Doflamingo, who had been about to take a pink robe from a chair of the room, stops and looks at you with a wide grin plastered on his face.

“Of course you can, (y/n). But…”, Doflamingo leans one knee over the bed again and leans over you, grabbing your chin between his fingers before talking next, “…in that case, you must let me join you”

Your brain almost suffers a short-circuit when the image of Doflamingo showering appears in your mind, because you would be lying if that image hadn’t been present in some of you wet dreams since the moment you acknowledge your want for the man.

“As long as the shower is big enough for the both of us”, you manage to answer playfully in a voice that comes a little trembling because of the nervousness.

“Fu fu fu~. You can see it for yourself”

Doflamingo offers you a hand to help you out of the bed. You feel a pang of embarrassment when standing in the floor completely naked before realizing that it was really stupid to feel that way after what had happened between Doflamingo and you last night.

The room’s private bathroom was big to see the least, because it was probably bigger than you whole bedroom. And the shower…well, you were pretty sure that your single bed fitted there and some space will be left over.

You are still paying attention to the bathroom’s details when Doflamingo steps inside the shower and turns the water on. This time, your mouth falls inevitably open when Doflamingo is slowly soaked, his muscles accentuated because of that artificial rain cascading down his tanned body.

“What are you waiting for, (y/n)?”, Doflamingo passes his hands through his hair, the action causing his abs to tense hypnotically in the process, “I thought that you wanted a shower”

The way Doflamingo’s eyes are glinting playfully contrast with his obviously fake confusing tone, confirming you that Doflamingo is probably aware of the effect his naked wet figure is causing on you. Not that it was very difficult to guess. Having utterly naked had its disadvantages.  

“Show off”, you snap simply by walking rapidly inside the gigantic shower, causing Doflamingo to chuckle.

“Is the temperature okay?”

You nod.

“Yes”, you say with a smile that Doflamingo returns while opening a little drawer that was hanging in one of the walls of the shower.

“I’m afraid that here I just have my shampoos and gels, but I’ll make sure to have the ones you use for the next time”

You chuckle and adopt an ironic tone.

“Oh, so you think that I will share more showers with you?”

Doflamingo grins widely.

“No, (y/n): I _know_ that you will. And now turn around”

You obey, feeling slightly confused until you hear Doflamingo uncap the bottle of shampoo and the next thing you feel is his fingers massaging your scalp.

“Oooh _god_ ”, your eyes go half-mast and you let your head fall backwards, enjoying the delicious sensation of Doflamingo’s fingers applying just the right amount of pressure on your head, “oh, _yes_ ”

Doflamingo grunts softly behind you and you exhale a soft gasp when he nips softly the shell of your ear.

“Keep sounding so sexy and this shower won’t be as quick as you’d like”

You blush deep red when hearing the clear innuendo on Doflamingo’s words, feeling a wetness that had nothing to do with the shower water appear in your most intimate zone.

After some seconds Doflamingo finishes washing your (s/l) hair and he is about to take the gel bottle but you take it from his hands.

“My turn”, you say, locking your (e/c) eyes with his while pouring the liquid in your hands. Doflamingo observes you with a smirk while you settle your hands on his pectorals first. He allows you to roam your hands over those sinful muscles for some moments before slowly traveling down, not diverting your eyes from him at any moment.

You take your time soaping his six-pack as well, and even if your heart begins to beat faster because of the nervousness you travel even lower until reaching his well-endowed member. Doflamingo hisses lowly in pleasure when you begin to steady stroke his shaft, making sure to apply extra pressure on his sensitive tip. You bite your bottom lip, considering the possibility of kneeling down to do what you couldn’t do last night, but before being able to make your mind Doflamingo suddenly forces you to turn around again, pressing your body against his.

“My turn”, he repeats huskily, taking the gel and coating his fingers before settling both of his hands over your breasts while slowly darting his tongue down the side of your neck.

You moan and reach back to grasp Doflamingo’s nape, tilting your head to de side to allow him suck at your neck as he pleases. Your body arches unconsciously when Doflamingo begins to massage your breasts with soapy hands, pinching your now hard nipples between his fingers and causing a tight knot to settle in your core. Your legs open on their own and Doflamingo complies your silent plea by traveling down with one of his hands to press two long fingers inside you.

A shocking shot of pleasure shakes you whole when Doflamigo’s thumb begins to circle your clit without stopping the thrusting motion of his fingers. You moan loudly again, bucking down your hips to feel Doflamingo deeper, but soon you realize that it’s not enough, and for the way Doflamingo’s awakened thick member is insistently pressing against you lower back, it was not enough for him either.

“Doffy”, you whine with a tone that bordered on begging, “Doffy, come _on_ ”

“Fufufu~, what’s wrong, (y/n)?”, Doflamingo purrs against your ear, his hot breathing causing you goosebumps, “I thought you wanted to hurry to have breakfast”

If all your efforts weren’t put on keeping your moans under an acceptable level of volume, you would glare at Doflamingo for being able to talk with such casualness in the situation you were in.

It had seemed strange to you that Doflamingo agreed so rapidly to go for breakfast when just a second before the kids’ interruption he had been clearly about to make love to you, but now you knew the reason: he had probably deduced that this was going to happen and had decided to wait to tease you. What a sneaky (and absolutely _hot_ ) bastard. 

“To hell with breakfast”, you snap, forcing Doflamingo’s mouth on you to deposit a rude kiss on his lips, “I want you, Doffy. _Now_ ”

Your bold words cause the expected result and Doflamingo grunts lustily before turning you around to kiss you properly.

“Your wish is my command, my dear”

Doflamingo reaches rapidly inside the hanging wardrobe and extracts a condom from it. Probably in any other situation you would have teased the man by asking if he had a condom hidden in every wardrobe of his manor, but you were wanting to feel him inside so badly that you simply help him open the little package with trembling hands before sliding it over his manhood.

When his member is covered, Doflamingo surprises you by hooking his hands on the back of your thighs and lifting you up to press you heatedly against the shower wall. The cold tiles against your back make a sharp contrast with Doflamingo’s warm front against your body, causing you to exhale a gasp that is swallowed by Doflamingo’s mouth.

“You previous promise still remains?”

It takes you a moment to understand what Doflamingo is saying, but when you do you nod without hesitation.

“Yes”, you secure your hands around Doflamingo’s strong shoulders and give him your best daring gaze, “don’t hold back”

Doflamingo hums huskily when hearing your determined answer before finally beginning to enter you. This time you don’t bother to suppress a long, needy moan when his girth fills you slowly but continuously until Doflamingo is completely sheathed inside you, making you feel incredibly full.

Doflamingo keeps still for some seconds, allowing you to adequately adjust. He gives a couple of experimental thrusts, as if verifying that you were really okay, and he seems to be satisfied with your expression because he begins to move for real.

Your nails dig on Doflamingo’s skin when he begins to pound inside you ruthlessly. The slapping sounds of your bodies connecting overlap with your back rubbing against the wet shower wall over and over again, although those sounds were also muffled by your moans of pleasure, that can’t possibly be coordinated with the powerful, fast tempo that Doflamingo is imposing.

After some moments your arms and legs begin to strain for the effort to keep them hooked around Doflamingo’s body but you ignore the light discomfort and make sure to secure your heels against Doflamingo’s lower back. The pleasure that you were feeling was way bigger and besides you could feel yourself getting close.

You are about to announce Doflamingo that you were about to finish but at the last moment you decide not to. This time you wanted to try coming together, so the next time that Doflamingo tries to kiss you, you divert your mouth and grabs his earlobe in your mouth, nipping his sensitive flesh with teeth and tongue, doing the same thing that you did that day in your apartment.

Doflamingo growls with the action and stops for a brief moment as if composing himself, his fingers digging in your buttocks almost painfully. However, almost immediately he recovers, resuming his previous hard pace, so despite your attempts of delaying your climax you end inevitable reaching your peak sooner than Doflamingo.

The way you shout Doflamingo’s name while orgasming seems to affect him because just a half-a-dozen of erratic thrusts later Doflamingo finishes as well, the hotness of his release invading your core despite the condom that he was wearing.

“It’s been a while since the last time I took such a refreshing shower”

You exhale a breathless chuckle when hearing Doflamingo speak in an utterly satisfied tone. You kiss him sloppily, feeling yourself still surrounded by a drowsy post-orgasmic daze. You suppress a whine when Doflamingo gets out from you and places you on the shower floor.

“Can you stand?”

“Yes”, you realize that you have answered too fast when you feel your legs trembling, “or maybe not”

Doflamingo chuckles and removes the used condom rapidly before grabbing you princess style to get out the shower. He sits you over the chair that is there and places a towel around your body, beginning to dry you with it.

“Okay, mental note: working on my stamina for real”

Doflamingo laughs when hearing your resigned comment.

“It won’t be necessary, (y/n). Remember that practice makes perfect”

“Doffy, I don’t think that that sentence can be applied to sex”

“Well, I suppose that there is just one way to discover it”

You roll your eyes with a smile before kissing Doflamingo’s smirk.

“Okay, I think I can walk already”

With difficulty you stand up from the chair. You can still feel your legs wobbling a little but you manage to reach the bedroom again with relatively firmness with the pink towel wrapped around your body.

“I think Viola has visited us while we were on the shower”

Your eyes open wide in surprise and are about to ask Doflamingo how he knows that when you realize that are several woman clothing placed carefully on the bed.

“How nice”, you smile a little embarrassedly, “although if she has lent me her clothes I highly doubt that they can fit me”

“They are not her clothes. I asked her to go buy some for you, so that you could be here dressing more comfortably”

While talking, Doflamingo takes a robe that is leaning over a chair and puts it on. He ties it so that his lower half was covered but his upper front kept being exposed, leaving his pectorals and abs on display, thing that of course you didn’t mind at all and that caused you to answer with more delay than usual.

“O-Oh, great”, you take a robe that was leaning on the bed and try it on, verifying that it fitted you perfectly, “I’ll thank her later”

“Me too”, Doflamingo says, ogling you without any shame, causing you to blush slightly because of the attention.

“Silly”, you say, kissing him playfully before recovering your mobile from your nightstand. As expected, you had some messages from Rebecca asking you how ‘the steamy night had gone’ and also couple from Corazon that the man has sent you while you and Doflamingo were at the shower.

You open the last ones with curiosity and when reading them you gulp, deducing what Doflamingo’s reaction was going to be right now.

“Umh…Doffy…”

Doflamingo looks at you with curiosity when hearing your cautious tone.

“Yes?”

“Corazon has just texted”, you prepare yourself for Doflamingo’s reaction, “he is asking me to please go to the shop this morning”

Doflamingo doesn’t say anything for some seconds but when he talks annoyance is clear in his tone.

“It’s Sunday”

“I know, but it’s true that Corazon told me that schools are going to begin to order children costumes to prepare Christmas festivals, and I promised him that I’d help him to organize everything”, you bite your bottom lip apologetically, “sorry, I have completely forgotten about it until now. I promise you that it will be just a couple of hours or so”

Doflamingo exhales a resigned sigh before nodding, although a little reluctantly.

“Alright, but if you haven’t come back in two hours I will personally go to drag you back here”

You realize that Doflamingo isn’t joking in the least when saying that, but you can’t help to chuckle softly when imagining man kidnapping you in Corazon’s shop.

“It won’t take long”, you assure, kissing Doflamingo on the cheek before grabbing his hand, “and now for real let’s go before Trebol finishes with all the cookies”

Doflamingo’s annoyance vanishes a little when hearing your hurried tone, letting you guide him down to join the rest of the family in the dining room.

* * *

After having a quick breakfast you decide to go directly to Corazon’s shop without stopping in your apartment first, since you feared that in case of doing that Rebecca was going to assault you with questions (she had done it already with messages) and you really wanted to be back with Doflamingo in time to prevent a fight between the two brothers.

Lao G leaves you in front of the shop and after thanking the man you practically stomp on it. Corazon was already in the counter, lost in a mountain of papers that, you deduced, you were going to help him organize.

“Good morning, Corazon!”

Corazon raises his face from the counter to look at you with a grateful smile.

“Good morning, (y/n). Thanks a lot for coming. Law will arrive soon too so I’m sure that with your extra help we’ll be able to finish in no tim-”, Corazon stops talking when you approach him, and you are about to ask him if there’s something wrong when Corazon talks again with an amused tone, “I see that you have spent a good night”

Your eyes open wide in surprise when hearing his ironic comment.

“W-What do you mean?”, you ask nervously, not liking one bit Corazon’s red smirk widening.

“Bartolomeo, can you come here for a moment?”, Corazon calls suddenly. In a couple of seconds the green-haired punk appears from the back shop to join Corazon and you.

“Yeah, Cora-senpai, what do you-?”, Bartolomeo’s mouth falls opened when seeing you and almost immediately he shouts towards the back shop as well, “Cavendish! Come here right now!”

You aren’t able to ask anything because at that moment Cavendish appears as well with a frown.

“Bartolomeo, I would like you not to order me around like tha-”, Cavendish looks at you and covers his mouth with his hand, “oh my”

“Hahahaha, see?!”, Bartolomeo says triumphantly, “Now you better not protest when I leave marks on you. Her case is much worse”

You blink twice. Marks? What are they saying? You verified this same morning that you hadn’t any marks while dressing you!

“(y/n), did you know that some love-marks don’t appear immediately?”

When hearing Corazon your mouth falls open. You fly towards one of the mirrors of the room, and the color abandons your face when seeing your reflection.

“Oh damn”, you look with mortification at your neck that was literally covered with small but abundant purple marks, “oh damn, so this is why all the people in the street was looking at me this morning”

You immediately regret having said that because your comment causes the three men to burst out laughing at the same time.

“It’s not funny!”, you exclaim bright red, “damn it, I’m going to kill Doffy later, I swear”

Your irritated comment just makes your friends laugh even harder. You are about to tell them how idiot you thought they were when the bell of the shop rings and Law enters the shop. He looks surprised at the three laughing men.

“Alright, what is going on here?”, Law’s expression barely changes when looking at you but a knowing smirk shows in his face, “oh, it seems that Corazon isn’t the only passionate Donquixote”

“Oh, come on, Law, you too?!”

At the end those idiot’s loud laughers and Law’s quiet chuckles are quite contagious and you end smiling with resignation against your will, knowing that it was going to be a long afternoon full of deserved teasing.

Definitely, when seeing Doflamingo you were going to give him a piece of your mind, although you perfectly knew that his reaction was going to be rather similar to the idiot men in the shop, and that you wouldn’t be able to keep your outraged attitude as much as you’d like when that happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Spoiler of the next chapter** : Something happens in the company that requires your first real job as a member of the Donquixote Family ;)


	17. A new crisis arises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to work and discover that one of Doflamingo’s old rival is trying to ruin the company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2f/a9/46/2fa9462f563221ada1147b628d4c1ae0--skirt-outfits-work-outfits.jpg) is how I image the reader dressing in this chapter when going to work in Doflamingo’s company :) 
> 
> **Warning: NSFW**

“Soooo…have you thought about it already or not?”

You whine pitifully and cover your face with a cushion of the sofa, causing Rebecca to let out a patient sigh when seeing your childish attempt to hide from her.

“(y/n), you can’t keep avoiding the matter”, Rebecca removes the cushion from your face and looks at you with intensity, “we are in the middle of November and you _know_ what’s going to happen at the end of the month. We have to made a decision now”

You exhale a sigh, but you have to admit that Rebecca is right. By the end of the month, your landlady would send Rebecca and you an email as always, asking you if you wanted to renew your rental contract, and now the question was: were you and Rebecca going to keep living on your own and sharing the apartment, or were you going to move to Doflamingo’s manor, as he offered you _both_ to do?

“Look, I know that we have to talk about this-”

“Yes, you better know, because I’ve been bringing the subject over and over again these two weeks”

“Believe, Becca, _I’ve noticed it_ , but you know how busy I’ve been! I haven’t had time to think about this seriously”

“Well, that’s because your ex-crush and now-brother-in-law doesn’t stop exploiting you”

“That’s not true! It’s just that we are in the third ‘worst’ time of the year: the first one is near Carnival, the second one is near Halloween, and the third one is near Christmas, and I knew this already when I began to work for him”

“Yes, yes, whatever, but the result is that you have barely seen your boyfriend in two weeks”

“Hey, that’s not true either! I’ve seen Doffy in his office almost every day”

“Yes, but just at work, you silly! The rest of the time you were working in the costumes shop or studying for your Master: when was the last time you both had a date?”

“...The Sunday after the inauguration party”

“And the last time you had sex?”

“……The Sunday after the inauguration party”

 “Okay, and are you going to tell me that you are fine with that?!”

“Of course I’m _not_ , but what do you want me to do if I have three damn works that I like?!”

“Easy: stop chicken out already and accept Doflamingo’s proposal”

You look at Rebecca with your eyes wide opened, not knowing very well how the conversation has returned to the first subject.

“What?”

Rebecca chuckles before talking with a patient tone.

“What I say is that living with Doflamingo has just advantages for you. Think about it: even if you are super busy during the day, you will be able to spend at least the night together, and the mornings when you don’t have to get up too early. So now seriously, (y/n), why is it taking you so much to decide?”

“Because we are going too damn fast!”, you exclaim without ever thinking, “I-I mean, I’ve never been with anyone before Doffy. Okay, there have been people that I’ve liked, and I even had a couple of dates with some of them, but it always ended in nothing because…well, because you know how weird I am”

“Yes, I know, but that’s what makes you adorable”, Rebecca pinches your cheek playfully, causing you let a soft ‘ouch’, “but please, continue: open your heart to me, little oyster”

“Ha ha ha”, you say with irony before your tone becomes a little too nervous, “so, as I was saying, I’ve never been with someone for real because first, I’m a damn oyster, and second, because I’ve always wanted to be sure that everything was going to work before giving a huge step. For that reason I was unable to tell Corazon how I felt, but then Doffy appeared and _in less than two months_ I’ve stopped being interested in Corazon, I’ve fallen in love with Doffy instead, now we are dating, we’ve had sex already ( _amazing_ sex),  and if all that wasn’t enough now he offers me to live with him. Goddamint, at this rate the next year I’m going to be married, or pregnant, or maybe with a child!”

Rebecca bursts out laughing when hearing your last sentence.

“Oh, (y/n), your are the only one who can gets hysterical because everything is going right”

“I’m _not_ hysterical, I just…”, Rebecca smiles at you with amusement and you just sigh with resignation, “okay, maybe I am, but…I don’t know, don’t you think that I’m going too damn fast to be me?”

“Weeell, it’s true if some months ago someone had told me that little oyster (y/n) was going to fall in love, date, sleep and going to live with a man in _less than two months_ I would have thought that it was impossible. But the thing is…”, Rebecca places a hand on your shoulder and smiles at you reassuringly, “…that it has happened, and that Doflamingo and you are really good together, so what if everything is going faster than it should go? As long as you both want it and are happy with it, there is nothing more to think about”

You think to yourself for a moment and after some seconds you exhale a soft laugh.

“I guess you are right”, you admit, feeling better now that you have expressed aloud all the things that have been rounding your mind for some weeks already, “and are you sure that you don’t mind to change home?”

“Mmm, let me think”, Rebecca begins to tap at her chin with her index finger, “I’m going to stop living in a 40 meters apartment to live in a manor in which my bedroom is going to surely be bigger than our current home? Weeeell, it’s going to be hard, but I will sacrifice myself for you, (y/n)”

“You are an idiot”, you exclaim between laughs.

“Come on, (y/n), how did you expect me to answer to such a stupid question?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be weird that you preferred to keep living here to have more independence and intimacy-”

“(y/n), what part of: ‘ _a manor in which my bedroom is going to surely be bigger than our current home’_ you don’t understand?”

This time, you both begin to laugh at the same time. You were really happy that Rebecca decided to move with you. You have spent four years living together and you would really miss her in case you had to separate now.

“Okay, and now that we have finally agreed that next year we will be living in the manor…”, Rebecca smiles mischievously, “…I thought that you told me that you just had sex with Doffy after the party”

You freeze, feeling cold sweat invading you

 _Crap_.

“So…”, Rebecca encloses an arm around your shoulders amicably, “what did you mean earlier when saying that you had sex on _Sunday_? (y/n), if you have forgotten telling me about it I won’t forgive you, you know?”

With an exasperated grunt you cover your face again with the cushion of the sofa, although knowing very well who was going the one in losing the battle of this conversation.

* * *

That same afternoon you go to the company feeling a little nervous, since Rebecca has convinced you to tell Doflamingo about wanting to live with him that same day. After all, Rebecca argued, the sooner you two began to move your stuff to the manor the better, since after warning the landlady your would only have one month to abandon your current apartment.

Therefore, while riding up the elevator towards the top flor you can feel your heart beat a little crazily, even if you were impatience to tell Doflamingo your decision, but your good mood disappears when you approach Doflamingo’s office and hear obviously irritated voices speaking from the inside, being Doflamingo’s one among them.

You remain still in front of the door, not knowing very well if you should interrupt them or not, but after some seconds of hesitation your curiosity wins over and you knock at the door once first and then twice when realizing that the men inside (presumably the Executives plus Doflamingo) hadn’t heard you.

“Yes?”

A month ago you would have probably felt intimidated when hearing Doflamingo answering in such an irritated tone, but not anymore.

“Doffy? Can I enter?”

Silence reigns in the other side of the room before you hear steps approaching and the door opens, showing an unusually serious Diamante, who simply nods at you as a greeting.

You enter the office and see that your suspicious seem to be correct: something big must had happened because just Trebol, Pica and Diamante were there. You look then at Doflamingo, who is leaning against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest so tightly that his black fitted shirt is clearing suffering, but for once you don’t pay attention to that (sexy) detail and just focus on Doflamingo’s serious expression, the anger that the man was feeling being evident for the little vein popping in his temple.

However, when you enter Doflamingo’s expression relaxes a little while approaching you to deposit a welcome kiss on your cheek.

“Good afternoon, (y/n). Sorry, you have just caught us in the middle of solving a little problem”

“Tsk, it’s more than a ‘little problem’”

“Diamante, try to calm down, neeeee. We don’t know yet how much information has slipped, maybe at the end it’s not so bad, neeee!”

“For once I agree with Trebol”, Pica intervenes with his usual baritone, “but we should also consider our plan of action for the worst case scenario…”

“Okay, can someone explain me what has happened?”, you say rapidly before any of the Executives can speak again. After a brief silence Doflamingo speaks.

“(y/n), does the name ‘Crocodile’ sound familiar to you?”

You frown, trying to remember.

“Yes. I think that when reorganizing the clients’ database that name appeared in some of the registers”

Doflamingo nods.

“Crocodile is the owner of Baroque Works, a company whose services are quite similar to the ones we offer. It was founded almost at the same time than ours, so we’ve been inevitably competing since the beginning, and they hadn’t stopped trying to surpass us. However, during this last year Crocodile suddenly went quite inactive, as if he had lost interest in what we do. Of course, we kept watching him just in case, but despite that…”, Doflamingo smirks again but there wasn’t the least hint of mock on his smile, “…it seems that Crocodile managed to find a weak point during his sabbatical rest, because today an employee of the 38th floor has introduced a virus on the system that, we suspect, planned to steal all the data of our clients and send them directly to this bastard”

Your eyes open wide. Your professional curiosity almost makes you ask how the employee had done that but you decide that that wasn’t important at the moment.

 “And do you know if the virus has succeeded? Or what did it plan to steal”

“We don’t know that yet”, Diamante intervenes, “but Gladius and Machvise are talking to that man right now to find out”

You gulp. You didn’t want to ask what those two meant when saying ‘ _talking’_.

“Monet is also investigating the matter right now, nee. Surely she will find something, neee!”

“And there is something that can I do?”, you say immediately.

“I think Buffalo and Baby 5 are checking that the virus hasn’t reached database”, Pica comments, “maybe you could lend them a hand”

You look at Doflamingo, silently asking if that was what he wanted you to do. The man smiles when seeing your determined look and nods, showing his approbation, so you abandon Doflamingo’s office fast to begin with your task.

You spend the next three hours with Buffalo and Viola checking every single entry of the database to verify that everything was okay. By when you finish, your head was filled with names of clients and your eyes hitched a little for being so focused in front of the screen without resting, but you were happy to have finished such a tedious task relatively quickly.

After finishing, you decide to pay Doflamingo a visit to tell him that, at least, the database hadn’t been corrupted.

You knock softly at his door but you obtain no response. You knock again, and when after the third time Doflamingo hasn’t responded yet you decide to carefully open the door.  

You stick your head in and observe in silence at Doflamingo.  He was sitting in his desk, his chin leant over his right hand while tapping his fingers on the wooden desk with his other. He has removed his glasses and his sharp brown eyes are fixed in a set of papers in front of him, scanning them in concentration.

After hesitating, you clear your throat to announce yourself, which causes Doflamingo to raise his face from his desk to look at you. You suppress a gulp. Definitely, the current incident was more problematic than you thought. You hadn’t seen Doflamingo looking so tense since the surprise visit of Smoker at the company more than a month ago.

“Hey”, you say, still not entering, “I’ve knocked but you didn’t answer, can I enter or are you busy?”

Doflamingo surprises you by chuckling softly.

“(y/n), I thought we had left the formalities behind”, you are relieved when Doflamingo speaks with his usual mocking tone, “you can enter here whenever you want. You don’t need to knock every time”

You exhale a chuckle and nod. Sometimes you forgot that being Doflamingo’s girlfriend had its privileges.

You step inside the office and close the door behind you, approaching then Doflamingo’s desk until being situated just in front of him.

“I just wanted to tell you that we have checked the database thoroughly and everything is in order”

Doflamingo nods.

“That’s good to know”

Doflamingo looks briefly one of the papers that are leaning on his table before crumbling it and throwing it to the paper bin with a harsh gesture. You observe him rub his eyes, in silence at first, but at the end you can’t help to speak.

“Is there something else that I can do to help?”

“Yes, don’t tell anything to the police when I go to kill that bastard with my own hands”, Doflamingo bursts out laughing when your eyes open wide, “don’t worry, (y/n), I’m joking. At least for now. I still have to analyze the whole situation calmly before adopting such extreme although surely satisfying measures”

You exhale a little relieved laugh and circle the table to situate behind Doflamingo.

“Well, just so you know”, you enclose your arms around Doflamingo from behind and rest your chin on his shoulder, “I would keep silent in case you would end doing that”

“Fu fu fu, I know”, Doflamingo tilts his head to the side to kiss you briefly, “listen, you can go home already if you want. You’ve done more than enough today”

“And you?”

“I have to finish some things but I don’t think it takes me more than a couple of hours”

You sigh before incorporating. You settle your hands over Doflamingo’s shoulders and, as you had guessed, you notice that they are extremely stiff.

“Doffy, I really think you should rest a little before continuing. You aren’t going to be able to concentrate if your are this tense”

While talking you begin to rotate your thumbs over Doflamingo’s broad shoulder blades, and you suppress a proud smile when he lets out a satisfied grunt, relaxing a little in your touch. Well, it seemed that Rebecca wasn’t lying when praising your massaging skills.

You keep rubbing your fingers over Doflamingo’s back, increasing a little the pressure from time to time to loosen the knots that had formed there. The next time that Doflamingo purrs appreciatively you deposit a quick kiss in his temple, but just when you are going to resume your task the man grabs you by the back of your head and forces your lips against his own in a passionate kiss that takes you completely by surprise.

“(y/n), it’s probably better if you stop or I will be unable to concentrate”

You are about to ask what Doflamingo means with that but it’s not necessary. Your eyes automatically stop at his crotch and you blush intensely when seeing the noticeable tent in his suit pants. Oh god. You have made Doflamingo hard just with a little massage and were feeling really happy for it.

“Fu fu fu~. Don’t make such a face, (y/n)”, Doflamingo says, misinterpreting for once the motive of your blushing, “I will take care of it discretely, so seriously, go home already. You deserve to res-”

You don’t know who is more surprised, if Doflamingo or yourself when you promptly situate in front of him and adopts a kneeling position between his legs. You gulp, feeling your heart go crazy, but the way Doflamingo’s mouth has opened half-mast in clear astonishment gives you courage to speak, although a little nervously.

“I can take care of it, if you want”

Doflamingo doesn’t say anything, his face remaining quite imperturbable despite the situation you both were in.

“Have you done this before?”

Doflamingo’s tone was casual but you can detect that he was waiting for your answer with special interest, and you think to know the reason behind it.

“No”, you say immediately before gulping and continuing talking, “but I want to. In fact…”, you offer him an embarrassed smile and avert your eyes to the side, “…I’ve been wanting to do it for a while”

You weren’t sure if this was the best moment to do this. After all Doflamingo had just learnt that his company could be at risk, and even if your improvised massage had caused  such a reaction in his body that didn’t mean that the man was in the mood to do something else.

However, your doubts vanish when noticing that Doflamingo’s clothed member has twitched after hearing your words. You look up at Doflamingo again and you can’t help to blush when seeing him lick his bottom lip in clear anticipation while beginning to unzip his trousers.

“Well, if that’s the case, young lady…”, you gulp when Doflamingo liberates his well-endowed member from his underwear to offer it to you, “…I’m not going to say no”

You exhale a small nervous laugh when Doflamingo uses a purposely obliging tone, as if he wasn’t desiring this as much as you were. You suppress the urge to take a deep breath and after settling your hands over Doflamingo’s knees you open your mouth invitingly, giving Doflamingo permission to slide himself inside.

The moment your soft lips close around Doflamingo’s flesh, he exhales an appreciative sigh. Since you were pretty sure that your mouth couldn’t take Doflamingo’s whole member, you decide be prudent and just begin with Doflamingo’s round tip first, licking around it experimentally. The taste that lingered in your mouth when some drops of precum land in your tongue was not disagreeable in the least, as you had feared, which gives you confidence to engulf a little  more of Doflamingo’s member.

The action makes Doflamingo hiss lowly in pleasure. You feel him getting bigger in your mouth, which forces you to be more careful so that your teeth don’t accidentally grasp his length, but his positive reaction encourages you to bob your head up and down with a rhythm that wasn’t too fast but that was good enough to make Doflamingo hum in satisfaction.

While the movements of your mouth become more confident, it crosses briefly your mind that this situation could easily be the typical of an erotic movie. And alright, _obviously_ there was a big difference, since Doflamingo was your boyfriend and not a simple random boss, but nevertheless to be doing this to Doflamingo in broad light and in his _office_ , was making you feel slowly getting wet.

After a minute, your jaw begins to hurt for the effort to keep your mouth open almost completely, but you ignore it and continue, risking to adopt a lightly faster pace that, you guessed, Doflamingo was going to enjoy more. However, you have just begun to increase the speed of your movements when suddenly Doflamingo curses and removes his member from your mouth.

You look up at him with irritation, wanting to finish what you had started, but you can’t do anything more than gasp when suddenly Doflamingo raises you in the air, sits you down over the desk, and claims your swollen lips fiercely.

Doflamingo raises then your skirt over your hips in a swift motion and you can feel your stomach clench tightly, realizing what the man is planning to do. God, you don’t know how many times you have fantasized about being taken in that same table, so without stopping kissing Doflamingo you proceed to unbutton his shirt with fingers that tremble because of the impatience of feeling his tan skin under your hands.

When the last button of the clothing is almost ripped Doflamingo is about to remove the shirt, but you grab his arms, stopping him.

“No. Leave it on”

Doflamingo raises an amused eyebrow when hearing your petition, half order half plea, but he decides that he likes the evident way you ogle at his half-naked body with your bottom lip grabbed between your teeth, and decides to indulge you in your little kink.

While his tongue plays on your neck, turning you crazy, Doflamingo unbuttons your shirt as well, revealing your still covered chest. Doflamino’s hands slip under your bra to grope your breasts directly. You whine in need when he begins to massage them shamelessly while pinching your nipples between his long fingers, every twitch sending waves of pleasure just in your core.

Doflamingo smirks against your jaw, clearly enjoying the way you begin to grind up against him, desperately wanting more. He kisses you again hard and his hands abandon your chest to land on your underwear. Your breath hitches against Doflamingo’s lips, feeling his fingers slip under your panties and going lower towards your core and-

“Doooffy!! We have news about Croco-boy, behehehe!!”

“Wait, Trebol, _WAIT_!”

You stare upside-down with a panicked expression at the office door when you hear the knob moving, but fortunately it seems that Diamante stops Trebol in time, preventing him from opening the door.

Thank goodness.

Getting along with the family was one thing, but getting catching by them while spread over Doflamingo’s desk and about to be hopefully fucked was simply too much.

“Nee, nee, why have you stopped me Diamante?! We have to tell him about this, neee!!”

“Doffy, are you busy right now?”, Diamante inquires from the other side of the door, clearly ignoring Trebol’s protests.

Doflamingo looks down at you and smirks when seeing your flushed expression.

“Yes, I have some unfinished matters to attend waiting in my table”

Even if you roll your eyes when hearing Doflamingo you are forced to hold back a chuckle.

“Okay, then when you finish, please, come to see us. You too, (y/n)”

“Neee?! So (y/n) is in there too?! Then why can’t we enter as well, neeeee?!”

“For Christ’s sake…”

This time you can’t hold back a laughter when hearing Diamante exhale that in an exasperated tone. Those two made a really comical duo.

“Alright then”, Doflamingo says casually when his two subordinates’ steps fade away, “where were we?”

A surprised gasp escapes your mouth when Doflamingo continues lowering your panties, as if the recent visit hadn’t ever happened.

“W-Wait a minute, do you want to keep going?”, you blush with stupor when Doflamingo ends removing your underwear with a fluid motion, leaving your lower half completely exposed, “but shouldn’t you go to see what they have discovered about Crocdile firs- _ahn_ ~”

You arch over the desk when at that moment Doflamingo slips not one but two fingers inside you, curling them in a way that cause your toes to curl in pleasure and your hips to automatically move against his fingers, as if demanding something bigger inside.

“Fu fu fu, so you are this wet already ~”, Doflamingo purrs with a grin, delighted with the way you are literally squirming under his capable hands, “I think Crocodile can wait, my dear, or must I remind you that it’s been two weeks since the last time we did _this_?”

To prove his point, Doflamingo withdraws his fingers to temptingly press the tip of his erected member against your quivering entrance without actually entering, just to tease you a little. You shiver with the contact, and decide that definitely that Crocodile could wait, so you wrap your legs around Doflamingo’s waist urging him in.

“Wait”

Now it’s Doflamingo the one who stops, and for once you are the one who reads what he is thinking.

“Don’t need it”, you adopt a sitting position on the desk to enclose your arms around Doflamingo’s neck to whisper your next sentence just in his pierced ear, “I’m taking pills now. We can do it without it”

Doflamingo grunts lowly in his throat when you use your heels to press him against you even more. He manhandles you so that you are sitting just on the border of the desk, and then without waiting any second longer he pushes inside you all the way to the hilt in one fast blow.

Your loosened entrance accepts the sudden intrusion without feeling any discomfort. Doflamingo grabs your ass with both hands to have better leverage and begins to ram into your heat, making you moan loudly because of the hard pace that he settles from the beginning.

You notice that Doflamingo’s groans are more frequent and slightly louder than the other times you had sex, probably for the way his member is enveloped by your warm walls without any plastic in the middle. The feeling of Doflamingo’s bare member filling you whole also feels more intense than usual, to the point that your insides are burning a little, although in a rather pleasant way.

You hide your face in the crook of Doflamingo’s neck to suppress your moans, which grow in volume as his pace turns merciless, causing his wooden desk to shake because of his savage rhythm.  Since Doflamingo’s hands are both occupied, this time you are the one who reaches down to rub your clit when feeling your climax approaching.

Doflamingo groans again, aroused when seeing you do that. He lets go one of your hips to push your head back so that he had access to your neck. You moan again when he bites the sensitive skin there, probably marking you, his more and more erratic pace indicates you that you weren’t the only one close.

This time, the orgasm hits you both at the same time when Doflamingo impales you down over his member in a final powerful onslaught that causes you to cry his name in pleasure. You embrace him tightly with arms and legs, whining when his release fills you up, making you feel even hotter than you already were after such a passionate sex session.

You smile against Doflamingo’s naked and slightly sweated chest when hearing the man exhale a deep sigh of contentment. Well, cleaning yourself was going to be a little messy now but damn if it hadn’t been totally worth it.

“This is not what I had in mind when telling you to rest”, you breath with a spent but happy tone.

“Fu fu fu. Me neither but I’m not going to complain”, Doflamingo agrees, settling a hand under your chin to force you look at him, “however, you better promise me not to give a massage to _anyone_ but me”   

Doflamingo kisses you possessively, and if you weren’t busy melting with the way his tongue was playing against your own, you would laugh for sure because Doflamingo had sounded really serious right now.  Well, maybe it was better to keep to yourself that Rebecca had been the first one in enjoying them.

* * *

After both of you are clean and acceptably presentable again (although for your idiotic ecstatic face anyone could perfectly deduce what you’ve been doing) Doflamingo and you go to the Executives office to find the three of them waiting for you two.

“So, what were the news regarding that bastard?”

“Hi, Doffy”, your eyes focus on the monitor from where a feminine voice has come and realize that the Executives have established a video-call with Monet, “and hi (y/n), long time no see”

You wave your hand towards the woman with a smile. The few times that you two had spoken have been mostly about work, but you had the feeling that she was a girl with whom you could get along.

“Okay, what news do you want first: the good ones or the bad ones?”

Doflamingo chuckles, taking the seat that Diamante was occupying just a moment ago to be facing the screen.

“You know I always want to leave the best for last, Monet”

The woman chuckles briefly before her tone turns serious.

“Well, the bad news are that whoever that created that virus knew what he (or she) was doing, because even if our firewalls managed to block it in less than ten seconds, that time was just enough so that they acceded to the private data of the company”

“So the objective wasn’t to steal the clients?”, Doflamingo asked, surprised.

“No”, Monet sigh, “the objective was to make a copy of the transactions that the company carries out, including the information about how we get our resources”

You don’t understand very well what Monet is saying but for the way Doflamingo grits his teeth it seemed that it was something quite bad.

“And there is more”, Pica intervenes then, “Viola has just called from the Police Department and she has discovered that Smoker has arranged a reunion with Crocodile in two days”

“With Smoker?”, you say with a frown, “why?”

“We think that Croco’s intention is to sell our information to Smokey, neeee. Since he can’t beat us with his stinky company he wants to make a deal with the police to ruin us, neeee!”

You gulp and throw a side glance to Doflamingo, who had his hand crossed in front of his face, his expression looking imperturbable if it wasn’t for the way his jaw was clenched.

“Alright, Monet, now the good news. And they better be worth it”

Monet nods.

“Don’t worry, they are”, Monet surprises everyone by smiling with superiority, “before I said that the hacker had done a good job, but I never said that he (or she) was clever than me, and after analyzing the virus (that fortunately was just blocked and not destroyed by our firewall), I‘ve been able to follow its trace, what has allowed me to enter in Baroque Works’ system for some seconds and to steal some useful information in return”

“Wow, you have to teach me how to do that”

Despite the complicated situation you were facing, your honest impressed comments cause the Family to laugh, Doflamingo included.

“I didn’t expect less from you, Monet”, the woman inclines her head towards the screen, obviously pleased with Doflamingo’s praise, “and what have you managed to access?”

“Well, apart from a bunch of appointments that are absolutely useless, I managed to gather two important pieces of information. The first one is the way the company infrastructure works, and I think that I have enough information to create a virus that will completely _destroy_ the data of Baroque Works company”

When hearing that, Trebol and Pica exhale a loud ‘ _YES_!’ that leave you almost deaf, but Monet hadn’t finished talking.

“However, I’m afraid that the only way to install the virus would be to access Crocodile’s private computer directly, since I don’t think I have time to create it so that it work in remote”

Everyone remains silent.

“And how the hell are we going to do that?”, Diamante snaps, saying aloud what everyone was thinking.

“Well, here it goes the second piece of information: apparently, Crocodile’s secretary has recently abandoned her job at the company and the man is looking for a new one urgently, so we can infiltrate one of our members so that she fills that gap and takes advantage of her position to access Crocodile’s computer”

Doflamingo hums, crossing his arms over the table.

“It’s not a bad plan, but if we want it to work we have to act before our dear Smoker meets with Crocodile, and that means that we have to send our spy _tomorrow_ ”

“But all the members that could take care of this are unavailable at the moment”, Diamante intervenes, “and even if Viola and Monet are our best candidates, Crocodile knows them, so we can’t send them”

“Yes, you are right, _but_ …”, Monet smiles, “…there is a relatively new member in the Family that probably Crocodile doesn’t know yet. A member whose professional skills will allow her to perfectly understand how my virus works, and to improvise in case something fails when installing it. And this perfect candidate…”, Monet fixes her orange eyes in you, “…is just next to you, Doffy”

When Monet says the last sentence, you can physically feel four pair of eyes fixing directly on you.

Well, you think with nervousness, it seemed that your first job as a Donquixte member was about to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know that in the last chapter I said that the reader was going to begin her first mission buuut I was dying to write a office-sex scene with Doffy so that will happen in the next chapter xD


	18. Mission Part I: Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first mission as a Donquixote member is about to start! But there are some preparations to do first.

“…and this perfect candidate is just next to you, Doffy”

You stare at the screen in disbelief when hearing Monet, feeling the Executive’s eyes fixed on you.

“Umh…are you talking about me?”

Monet chuckles when hearing your dumbfounded question and nods.

“Yes. As I’ve said, you will be perfectly able to understand how the virus works, and since your role will be pretty similar to the one you do in the company I’m sure that you won’t have much problem to do it”

Diamante breaks the brief silence that falls next with a hum.

“Well, it’s true that (y/n) managed to create the mirrored database in just a day, clearly showing that she can work under pressure”

“And she faced Smoker when he came to visit, not letting him to coax any piece of information of the company out of her”, Pica adds, nodding with conviction.

“Behehehe! And since she has just joined us, Croco-boy won’t recognize her for sure, neee!”

While the Executives begin to talk, you find yourself getting nervous but also excited for the possibility of going to a real mission. It’s true that the you of two months ago would have probably rejected the proposition, wanting to avoid any kind of risky situations, but after listening to Baby 5 and Buffalo’s stories about the missions they had done, you couldn’t help to feel curious about them. And right now, the more Monet spoke the more you wanted to do it. Besides, you were now a Donquixote member. It was time already to do something for the Company.

However, just when you are about to say Monet that you were totally up for it, the woman speaks again.

“Doffy, you’re too quiet. What do you think about this?”

It’s at that moment when you realize that Doflamingo hasn’t said anything since Monet’s proposal, and in fact the man hasn’t even moved from his position on the desk.

There is another silence, longer than the previous one, and then Doflamingo speaks.

“What I think is that your proposal has sense, Monet. However, I don’t accept it”

You feel your enthusiasm sinking when hearing Doflamingo’s cutting tone, but you recover fast enough to intervene.

“W-Wait, why don’t you accept it?”

Your question causes Doflamingo to finally face you, and you suppress a gulp when seeing that there isn’t any sign of mocking in his features.

“Because even if you undeniably have potential to eventually be able to do this kind of missions, there is no way that you are ready enough for tomorrow”

You can feel yourself getting impatience for Doflamingo’s negative, but if you want to have any opportunity to win this argument you definitely couldn’t lose your temple, so you make sure to adopt a reasonable tone before talking again.

“Look, maybe you’re right when saying that I don’t have much experience in this kind of job”, you see Doflamingo’s expression and you correct yourself, “okay, _fine_ , I don’t have the least experience, but according to Monet the only thing I have to do when I got the job-”

“ _If_ you get the job”

You bite your tongue not to jump already when hearing Doflamingo’s skeptic tone.

“… _If_ I get the job is to sneak in Crocodile’s office and plug the USB on his computer. It’s not that complicated!”

“Yes, I agree, it’s indeed a rather easy mission if you know what you’re doing, and if you know how to improvise when something goes wrong”

You frown.

“And you think that I’m not able to do that?”

“With _zero_ experience in this kind of situations? Sorry, dear, but I _know_ you don’t know where you’re getting yourself into”

When hearing that, your intention of keeping calm is thrown through the window.

“You know, you have said the same than Smoker when he warned about you and this company”

You realize that it hasn’t been a too good idea to compare Doflamingo with the inspector when this one grits his teeth and gets up from his chair slowly, straightening up until reaching his full impressive height to force you to raise your head to keep look at him. You can almost feel the dangerous aura that surrounds Doflamingo right now, but you manage to keep your cool and not to avert your eyes from his face.

“You can drop your menacing stance. I know that you are not going to hurt me”, you say crossing your arms and raising your chin to look up at Doflamingo defiantly.

“No, of course I won’t. _But_ …”, Doflamingo’s tone becomes warning, “…if you insist in going against my orders, I will lock you in the manor and will leave indications not to let you leave until this matter is solved, so that I can be sure that you aren’t going to do anything stupid. And believe it, young lady, I will do it”

When Doflamingo mentions the manor you remember that you haven’t told him yet that you wanted to move with him, but definitely this was not the best moment to bring up the subject.

“Doffy, I don’t plan to do anything stupid”, you try, again, to speak with calm, “I know where I’m getting myself into, and for that reason I promise that I will study the plan that you establish perfectly, and I will follow all the indications you give me and-”

“(y/n), I don’t like to have to repeat myself so I will say it just one more time”, Doflamingo manages to grow some extra centimeters forcing you to raise even more your head and speaks again, accentuating each word, “you are not doing this mission”

“Okay, and who are you going to send then?”, you insist stubbornly, decided not to give up, “Diamante has just said that Viola and Monet can’t go, and that you don’t have more available members at the moment”

“We can send Baby 5. Crocodile isn’t so used to see her as much as the rest of the Family, so with a little of disguise he won’t recognize her”

“What the…Baby 5 is exactly my age! Why she can do the mission and I can’t?!”

“I don’t know, (y/n), maybe because she has been working in the company for _almost ten years_ and she’s used to this kind of incidents?”

“Oh, so does that mean that I’m going to have to wait _ten years_ until you allow me to do a worthy job? And that in the meantime I’m just going to be checking your damn database over and over again?!”

“If that's what it takes so that you are prepared yes, that’s _exactly_ what you’ll do”

While Doflamingo and you keep arguing with more and more sarcastic responses Diamante and Pica begin to look at the ground clearly wanting to be out there, Monet just checks her nails absently and Trebol stares at you two alternatively in his usual good mood, as if he was just enjoying a tennis match, his snot hanging to one side to the other with every movement of his head.

Fortunately, not even another minute has passed when the door of the office opens and Viola enters with a satisfied smile that soon disappears when seeing Doflamingo and you throwing daggers at each other.

“Umh…have I just interrupted a lovers’ quarrel?”

“Yes”

Doflamingo and you stop talking at the same time and turn surprised to look at Pica, Diamante and Trebol when they answer Viola without letting you say anything.

“More like a lovers’ quarrel it’s just that I proposed (y/n) for her first mission and guess what Doffy has said”

This time, you two turn to look towards the screen when Monet says that so casually.

“Oh, here we go again”, Viola sighs with patience and approaches you two, “don’t worry, (y/n): we all have suffered Doffy acting like an overprotective father in our first mission. I but that he has threatened you to lock you up in the manor, right?”

Your eyes open wide before staring at Doflamingo, who suddenly looks just a little uncomfortable.

“I see that my guess is correct”, Viola says before turning at Doflamingo, “what is it? Do you think she is not prepared?”

Doflamingo snorts.

“Do _you_ think she is? She has just been with us two months-”

“Two months and half”

Doflamingo half-closes his eyes at you for your unnecessary annotation, but you just make sure to hold his gaze until the man turns to look at Viola again and continues talking as if you hadn’t intervened at all.

“As I was saying, after just _two months_ of being here there is no way that she is ready yet”

You are about to speak again but Viola raises her hand delicately towards you, indicating you to remain silent for now.

“Okay, Doffy, I understand that you are worried about her, but what if I tell you that I’ve managed to delay the Smoker’s reunion with Crocodile?”

You feel your heart skip a beat when Viola’s comment causes Doflamingo to look at her with interest.

“What do you mean?”, Doflamingo asks, and Viola proceeds to explain herself.

Apparently, the moment the woman had learnt about the reunion she had used all her resources to provide fake new leads regarding a rather big case on which Smoker had been working during the last months. The new provided information had caused Smoker to change his priorities and consequently the man had decided that Crocodile’s reunion could wait until he finished investigating the matter.

“…and with all this ‘new information’, I estimate that Smoker will be unable to meet Crocodile until a week passes at least, which means that (y/n) has that time to train for the mission. If she works hard, that time is enough so that she learns all the basic about self-defense and about Monet’s virus, and therefore…”, Viola settles an arm on Doflamingo’s shoulder, “you have no reason to say no”

“And if I have an extra week, I will be able to create a virus way more robust and potent that will reduce the possibilities of something going wrong”, Monet adds with a convinced tone.

A new silence falls in the room, and during that time you can’t help to hold your breath with expectation. Then, after some extremely long seconds, Doflamingo finally looks at you. He stares you for a moment, exhales a deep sigh, and finally speaks.

“If in five days I see that you aren’t prepared, I won’t let you go”

You are about to shout a loud ‘YES!’ but obviously you refrain yourself from doing so, because even if Doflamingo had eventually agreed to Viola’s argument it was evident that he wasn’t pleased in the least with the current turn of events, so you decided to nod effusively as an answer not wanting to push your luck by showing how happy you were.

At the end it’s decided that the next day you will begin your self-defense training, so Doflamingo asks everyone (you included) to abandon the office to speak with the members of the Donquixote Family that were going to be in charge of the training.

You come back to work but you are almost unable to concentrate during the remaining hours, since your thoughts can’t stop wandering about your first mission and after the training that you were going to do during the next five days.

When it’s time to go home, you stop in front of Doflamingo’s office, hesitating. Since you had got together it had become an habit to always go visit him to say goodbye. The times when Doflamingo had also finished he accompanied you home in his limousine, and the times when he was still busy he remained in the company while telling Lao G to bring you home. However, after your fight in the office, you didn’t know if it was a good idea to speak to him. Maybe it was better if you just went on your own and-

-and at that moment the door of the office opens and Doflamingo appears in front of you, as serious as before.

“Have you suddenly forgotten how to knock?”, the man says with a hint of sarcasm, leaning his forearm over the door frame.

You suppress the urge of answering in the same way and adopt a neutral tone.

“I was going to go home. Have you finished?”

Doflamingo looks at you in silence for a moment before nodding.

“Give me five minutes”

He doesn’t close the door but he doesn’t invite you inside either, so you eventually decide to enter his office though remaining just at the door. During the next five minutes Doflamingo revises his papers in silence, as if you weren’t there, so you simply lean against the wall while observing the diplomas and photos that covered the office’s walls to kill time.

When Doflamingo finishes he doesn’t say anything either. He stands up, puts his coat on and opens the door of the office, allowing you to leave first as always. Doflamingo and you say goodbye to all the Family members you pass by until reaching the elevator. You had never hated so much that the damn company had more than fifty floors until then, because the tension that was surrendering you two while riding down the elevator was rather nerve-wrecking.

The awkwardness was far from being gone, and when you both step inside the limousine and Doflamingo tells Lao G the direction of your apartment that tension kept floating between you two, even thicker than before.

During the entire trip Doflamingo and you just remain sitting in the back of the limousine in silence. You cast some side-glances at Doflamingo but the man seemed lost in his thoughts, his elbow leaning over the car window and his other hand tapping rhythmically over the leather seats, so you decide that maybe it was clever to abandon all chances to initiate a conversation.

After five horribly long more minutes, the limousine finally stops in front of your apartment, and when you hear Lao G say his characteristic ‘ _We have arrived, Miss (y/n)’_ you feel yourself tensing even more if possible.

You thank the old man while smiling nervously before gulping. Damn, before in Doflamingo’s office you hadn’t had the least problem in confronting him, but now you have no clue about how to proceed _after_ the fight.

However, you were pretty sure that leaving the car without saying anything to Doflamingo wasn’t the best choice, but kissing him as if nothing had happened could be too risky, so after considering your options you decide to go for something in the middle and place your hand over the one Doflamingo has leant over the seats.

“See you tomorrow, Doffy”, you simply say, pressing softly Doflamingo’s hand before turning towards the door of the car.

You are about to abandon the vehicle but that just ends in an attempt when Doflamingo grabs your arm, drags you towards his lap in a rather brusque movement, and captures your lips in a violent kiss that removes all the air of your lungs. The kiss catches you so out of guard that you aren’t even able to return it before Doflamingo lets your mouth go.

“Definitely, you are the most stubborn woman that I’ve ever met”

Doflamingo still sounded irritated, but you could also detect a hint of admiration in his voice that makes you feel rather proud. Well, you would have never guessed that your first fight was going to be resolved in that way, but like hell if you were going to complain.

“Really? More stubborn than Viola, Monet, Baby 5 or Sugar?”

Doflamingo hums to himself, as if thinking.

“Well, maybe not more than them, but considering that you have just barely entered the Family is quite impressive that you have reached their level of insubordination”

You smile and enclose your arms around his neck, this time not bothering to hide the fact that you have liked the comment.

“What, would you prefer a more submissive girlfriend that obeyed you without protesting?”

Doflamingo chuckles briefly, his hands moving up and down your sides causing you light goosebumps.

“No. I’ve always thought that temperamental women are sexier and infinitely more interesting. However…”, Doflamingo grabs suddenly your chin, the gesture firmer than usual, “…that doesn’t mean that I approve your involvement in this mission. And I was serious when saying that if I don’t see a clear improvement in four days, you won’t participate”

You are about to nod when you notice a little inconsistency in his words.

“Hey, before in the company you said _five_ days!”

“Yes, but that was before you had the nerve of ignoring me during the whole trip”

Your mouth opens wide.

“What?! _You_ have been ignoring me too, so that’s just an excuse to give me less time!”

“Oh, (y/n), you hurt me with your accusations”,  Doflamingo’s smirk turn devilish, “but since you have insisted _so much_ that you are prepared, that means that one single day won’t make much of a difference, don’t you think? Or maybe are you afraid because you are weaker than you’ve made us believe?”

You half-close your eyes at Doflamingo when hearing his more than obvious provocation. Since the last events involving you two had taken place under the sheets (and under the shower _and_ over a desk that same afternoon, to be more specific) you had momentarily forgotten that even if Doflamingo was a really attentive boyfriend and a fantastic lover, he could be one hell of a bastard too.

However, you couldn’t deny that that facet was one of the things that made him so interesting, so even if right now you really wanted to strangle him you decided to play his game. After all you had begun all this by going against Doflamingo’s orders, so it was evident that even if he had eventually agreed, there was going to be a price to pay.

“Very well. Four days. And in that time…”, you get yourself free from Doflamingo’s grip with a shake of your head and approach your lips to his ear, “…I will show you what a strong woman you have as a girlfriend”

You finish your sentence grabbing Doflamingo’s face and kissing him the hardest you could. Doflamingo grunts against your mouth before his arms entangle around you, one circling your waist and the other traveling up your back to grab your nape with a firm grip that stops you from controlling the heated kiss as much as you wanted.

You kiss passionately for a complete minute without stopping until you are forced to push him back to almost gasp for air, and you are a satisfied when seeing that, at least this time, Doflamingo looked just a little breathless.

“Now for real, see you tomorrow, Doffy”

Doflamingo laughs in his characteristic way while you climb down his lap and finally open the door of the limousine. Lao G says ‘G-oodbye’ to you (causing you to blush intensely because you had completely forgotten that the old man was still there) and when you are in the street Doflamingo lowers the window of your side to say one last thing to you.

“Rest well, young lady. Since you are so eager to begin to prove your value, the Family will be expecting you at 5 a.m. and not a minute later”

You don’t know how but you manage to keep your face imperturbable when hearing that absolutely insane hour.

“Let’s meet at 4.30 then. I have much to learn after all”, you say instead with a daring smile, and even if you know that you are going to regret it tomorrow you are happy when seeing a surprised expression appear briefly in Doflamingo’s factions before the man bursts out laughing.

“Stubborn woman”, is the last thing Doflamingo says while licking his lips in that sexy way of his before Lao G starts the car and the vehicle disappears down the streets.

Once you are alone and are sure that Doflamingo can’t see you anymore, you exhale a deep sigh and rub your temples with both hands.

“Well, (y/n)… another fine mess you’ve gotten yourself into”

* * *

When your alarm clock sounds the next morning at 3.45 a.m., you are about to kick yourself for being such an idiot and having suggested to go to the company even earlier than you should.  However, you suppress your self-harming instincts and stand up. You are so sleepy that you have to wash your face with cold water several times until you feel finally awake.

Since you weren’t a fan of doing sport, last afternoon you had to rapidly go to buy some sport clothes and a pair of trainers, so you dress yourself with those before slowly going down the stairs towards the kitchen not to wake Rebecca up, who was still sleeping.

Your breakfast this morning is more consistent than the ones you use to have because you deduce that the day was going to be tough. After that, you finally leave the apartment and discover that Doflamingo’s limousine is parked just there.

At that moment Lao G steps out the vehicle and opens the door of the back seats.

“G-ood morning-G, Miss (y/n). Please, G-et inside. We have much to do today”

After recovering from the surprise, since you weren’t expecting to be picked up, you nod with a smile and enter the car.

“Miss (y/n), do you know anythin-G about these days’ trainin-G?”, the old man inquires while starting the car.

“No. Yesterday I was just told that I was going to learn some self-defense basics”

Lao G hums to himself before opening the glove compartment. He extracts a paper from it that then he hands you over his shoulder.

“In that case it will be G-ood that you read this. This is the schedule that the Youn-G Master has prepared for you”

You take the paper, read it, and get incredible pale while gulping, feeling yourself beginning to sweat.

“S-So this is the schedule for the four days”

You are surprised when hearing Lao G chuckle with amusement.

“No, Miss (y/n). This is the schedule for _today_ ”

You wait for Lao G to say that it’s a joke.

The old man doesn’t do anything like that.

And at that moment, you realize that you are more screwed up than you thought.

* * *

Saying that the day was ‘tiring’ would be an understatement. Actually, what it came to your mind when trying to describe the day that you had faced was more along the lines of ‘Fucking Blazing Hell’, and right now, while lying on your bed with all the muscles of your body (and all the muscles that you didn’t even know you had) crying in pain with every little movement you did, you were seriously wondering if insisting so much in participate in the mission had been such a good idea.

You sigh with effort (because yeah, even sighing did _hurt_ ) and try to reach a more comfortable position, just to discover that it had been a _really_ bad idea to move, and that it was better to remain in that position for a little while, like forever.

Damn, when you heard the Family speak about self-defense you had naively thought, as any other normal person would have thought, that you would be learning some tactics that helped to react when someone attacked you.

Well…you couldn’t have been more wrong, because when you entered the impressive private gym that was inside the company and Lao G began to perform his techniques, you did learn then that what the Donquixote Family understood by ‘self-defense’ could be defined as: ‘ _attack the contrary the fastest and hardest you can before he/she can even think about attacking you’_.

Consequently, what you thought it was going to be a rather intense class ended being an almost inhuman training, at least for a person like you whose main exercise during the last years had exclusively consisted of going on foot to not-very-far-away places, so after observing with a dumbfounded expression the movements that Lao G asked you to imitate, you honestly felt like abandoning the gym at that same moment.

However, you pushed aside your first impulse of running away while crying inconsolably after discovering that a 70 old man was more agile than you and decided to give your best. Also, the fear of not being able to improve fast enough made you ignore the absolutely ridiculous names of the attacks that Lao G was teaching you, to the point that you ended shouting into the air ‘ _Poor Circulation Impact!_ ’ and ‘ _Chrysanthemum Chestnut Strained Back!_ ’ at the top of your lungs without laughing any single time. After all, you didn’t have any breath to waste.

You spent the morning training with Lao G almost non-stop. After that, you made a pause to have lunch (it was the first time that you practically devoured a healthy lunch voluntarily and without protesting) and then the second part of the training continued under Gladius’ supervision.

You innocently thought that this training would be better, since you didn’t have to move that much, but when Gladius handled an apparently light pistol to you and you almost let it fall to the floor because it was heavier than you expected, you discovered that, again, you had been mistaken. In fact, at first the weapon training was even worse than the one you spent with Lao G, because you were already feeling extremely tired and the recoil of the weapon every time you shot just helped to put more pressure in your upper body.

Fortunately, after you practically emptied a dozen of loaders without being able to hit a single target, Gladius took pity of you and decided that in the little time you had, you would better learn to use simpler (although more dangerous) weapons such as grenades and bombs. At least, in this first case you had just to work on improving your aiming without fearing that your shoulder broke every time you pulled the trigger, and the second case it was more like a theoretical class to learn how to create a bomb with apparent inoffensive objects.

After this second class you thought that the day was over, but when seeing the schedule you realized that you still had to spend a couple of more hours with Monet, since the woman was already working on the computer virus and you had to perfectly know how it worked.

Finally, after your reunion with Monet you went home, and the moment you stepped inside the apartment all the tiredness and the muscular pain that you had managed to push aside to keep going with the training hit you at full force. The only thing that prevented you from collapsing was that Rebecca was just there and caught you before leaving your forehead printed into the floor. She helped you reach your bedroom and you had been there since she left you there, twenty minutes or so ago.

Well, the only thing good about the infernal day has been that Doflamingo had been out in a reunion all day and he hadn’t seen the sate you were in right now, although you were pretty sure that the Family would inform him about your first day. Shit, you just hoped that Lao G didn’t tell him about your almost non-existent agility, and that Gladius didn’t comment that you had been about to detonate all the glazed windows of the floor when letting escape a grenade that, miraculously, Gladius had managed to recover and redirect just in time while you shouted hysterical apologies. 

You sigh again with your eyes closed, feeling that you were going to fall asleep with your clothes still on, but at that moment you hear the door of the entrance and you open your eyes again. You can Rebecca talking to someone but you were unable to identify the voices because they were talking to low.

You are about to ask Rebecca from your bedroom who had just come but you don’t need to  so because at that moment the door of your room opens allowing you to see Rebecca and two people that you definitely weren’t expecting.

“C-Corazon? Law?”, you exclaim with your eyes open wide when seeing the two men behind Rebecca, “what are you doing here?”, you understand suddenly and turn to look at Rebecca with your eyes half-closed, “you have called them, right?”

“Look, (y/n), I know how little you like to go to the doctor but you can barely stand!”, Rebecca exclaims, crossing her arms with a concerned expression that causes your frown to disappear.

“Actually she has just called Law but I was with him and wanted to see how you were”, Corazon says with a light apologetic tone that causes you to smile immediately, wondering for thousandth time how a man of his size could be so damn cute.

“Do you allow us then to enter, (y/n)-ya?”, Law says with his usual polite tone, “I wouldn’t like to be denounced for examining a patient without her permission”

You begin to laugh when hearing the doctor’s comment and nod from the bed. Corazon enters after Law and he has barely passed the door when suddenly the man falls into the floor with a shriek, causing the things that were over your nightstand and over your desk to tremble.

“Oh my god, are you okay?!”, you exclaim. Your body moves for instinct to try to help the fallen man and that causes you to whine because of the sudden movement.

“For goodness sake, Cora-san, watch out!”, Law exclaims while helping the 1,93 meters man to stand up with Rebecca’s help, “I’m here to examine (y/n)-ya, not you!”

“Sorry, I-I don’t know with what I’ve tripped”, the man says when he is on his feet again.

“I think it’s been my fault”, you say with an apologetic tone, “my slippers are always in the middle, sorry”

“Don’t apologize, (y/n)-ya, it’s also his fault: he _never_ looks where he steps”, Law says while approaching your bed, “my poor cat always runs away when she sees Cora-san because he has been about to squash her a hundredth of times at least”

You have to suppress the urge to laugh again when seeing the pouting face that Corazon makes when hearing Law’s reproach.

“Alright then”, Law sits in the border of the bed and fixes his grey eyes on you, turning his professional mode on, “where does it hurt?”

You huff.

“Where doesn’t it hurt”, you correct with a tiny voice, “even my eyelashes feel stiff”

Law offers you an understanding look before moving his hand towards you, causing you to involuntarily flinch even before he is able to do anything.

“Relax”, he says with a reassuring smile, “just want to see how bad it is”

You bite your bottom lip not to let out a pained whine while Law grabs one of your arms and begins to softly press the muscle, doing the same after that with your other arm. He orders you to incorporate and you manage to adopt a sitting position labouredly between whines. Law proceeds to touch your shoulders and your back, pressing in certain areas and asking if it hurts. You answer negatively every time. It didn’t hurt when he touched or pressed: it just hurt when you tried to move.

“Okay, you’re just in pain because you aren’t used to do much exercise, but you should feel better tomorrow if you rest”

“Just ‘better’?”, you say weakly, causing Law to let out a small chuckle.

“Well, it’s probably that tomorrow you can feel some stiffness. If you want though, I can prescribe you some cold gel that will help your muscles to relax, and also it will relieve the pain”

You are about to nod effusively but you remember just in time not to do so, so you content yourself with offering Law a grateful look and thanking him with such enthusiasm that the man ends blushing lightly.

“Okay, I’ll go to the pharmacy to buy this right now”, Rebecca says after Law gives her a piece of paper with the name of the gel.

“Thanks, Becca”, you say, causing the girl to wink at you with a smile before turning towards Corazon and Law.

“By the way, do you want to stay for dinner?”, Rebecca realizes that Corazon and Law are going to begin to make excuses not to stay and speaks again, “okay, it’s not a question: you are going to stay for dinner, as a thank you for having come in such a rush to help (y/n), so I need one of you to accompany me to carry the bags since I have to make a stop on the supermarket”

Before Corazon and Law can say anything Rebecca begins to point at the two men alternatively with fast movements while muttering to herself ‘ _Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…_ ’, until she finally stops in Law.

“Okay, doctor, you’ve been chosen! Come on: we have not much time until the supermarket closes”

Without waiting for an answer, Rebecca grabs one of Law’s wrists and drags the surprised doctor out of the room without apparent effort, leaving Corazon and you behind with your mouth opened in disbelief.

“Wow”, Corazon exclaims honestly impressed, “that girl has born to command”

You laugh when hearing Corazon’s comment before nodding.

“Yes, she has a talent to order around and still be absolutely charming”

Corazon chuckles before taking the seat that Law was previously occupying in your bed, and you can’t help to find super funny that if this situation had taken place two months ago, you would have been about to suffer a heart attack for being alone with Corazon in your bedroom.

“So you are training for your first mission”, Corazon offers you a playful smile, “have you practiced then all Lao G’s epic attacks? I think the ‘ _Icy Stiff Shoulder_ ’ was my favorite”

You return the smile.

“I think I prefer ‘ _Eye-Jab Strain_ ’. Although if I’m totally honest, now I feel as if someone had practiced the ‘ _Immortal Warrior’s Joint Pain_ ’ on me”

Corazon bursts out laughing when hearing the last name.

“Oh, yes, I have forgotten that one”

Corazon remains silent for a moment, his expression suddenly turning thoughtful.

“What are you thinking?”, you can’t help to ask, causing Corazon to wake up and look at you again.

“Nothing. It’s just that sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had accepted Doffy’s proposal of joining him”

Your eyes open wide when hearing the man’s answer. It had never crossed your mind that Corazon could have doubts about that matter. After all, you remember that he had looked really sure when rejecting Doflamingo’s proposal.

“And why don’t you do it?”, you ask.

Corazon scratches the back of his head before answering.

“Because I’m not like Doffy, and I don’t think I’d be able to do what it takes to be in his company. For example, if at some point I had to help destroy some other’s business to beneficiate the company…”, Corazon shows the hint of a sad smile, “…I don’t know if I’d be able to do it. I think I’m too softhearted for the business world, the same way that my father wa-”

“No”, you speak before ever thinking, causing Corazon to look at you surprised, “you aren’t like your father. You would never let your children suffer because of you. And regarding you being too softhearted... sometimes I also wonder if I’m suited for this job, and if I’d be able to make the decision of destroying other people’s lives on the company’s behalf. I guess I won’t know until the moment comes, but what I _do_ know for sure is Doffy would never ask us to do something that we can’t do”

“Something like an impossible training?”

You laugh when hearing Corazon’s ironic comment.

“Yes, but even if I protest, and even if I’m going to have a couple of words with Doffy for wanting to kill me from exhaustion, I know that I will overcome it, because otherwise Doffy wouldn’t have asked me to do it. And the same goes for you: you are his little brother, which means that Doffy surely knows you better than anyone else and consequently he knows what you are able or unable to do, so if he asked you to join him it’s because he knows you can perfectly be a member of his company no matter how softhearted you are”

Corazon still hesitates and is about to say something but you havenn’t finished.

“And I’m also sure that working in the company wouldn’t mean to abandon your current job. Doffy knows how important your costume shop is for you, so there’s no way he would ask you to renounce to it”

Corazon looks at you, speechless.

“Seriously, am I so easy to read or Doffy, Law and you have some kind of power that allows you to read minds?”

You begin to laugh when realizing that Corazon wasn’t entirely joking.

“Maybe both”, you say playfully before adopting a hoping tone, “so…will you join Doffy?”

Corazon sighs and bites his bottom red lip hesitantly before speaking.

“I’ll think about it”, he smiles, “he doesn’t know this but when he asked me to join him twenty years ago, I was about to accept his offer. At the end I didn’t, since I had already found the perfect building for my shop and several doubts were still rounding my head at the time, but now that we are in the same city and that I have you to push away my doubts, maybe the answer will be different”

You smile widely when hearing Corazon’s comment.

“Great! But then that means that you would be moving with Doffy too”

You don’t realize your mistake until Corazon’s brown eyes open wide.

“ _Too_?”, he repeats, and when you blush his eyes open even wider, “w-w-wait, you are going to move with Doffy?!”

“ _Ssshh_!”, you say stupidly, as if Doflamingo could hear you just for mentioning the subject, “y-yes, that is the idea, but I haven’t told Doffy yet, so-”

“CONGRATULATIONS, (y/n)!!”, you let out a pained gasp when Corazon hugs you using a little too much force, “o-oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but I’m so happy that things go so good between you two!!”

When Rebecca and Law arrive around fifteen minutes later, Corazon was still overly enthusiastic so you also tell Law about your intention of moving with Doflamingo. You ask the two men not to say anything, since you didn’t plan to tell Doflamingo about this until this mission ended.

After you make good use of the cold gel that Rebecca has bought (thankfully the girl had bought two gels because you almost finish with the first one) you carefully join the rest in the first floor, the process of going down the stairs being a little tedious because of the stiffness in your legs.

As you were expecting, you are obliged to remain sitting in the sofa while Rebecca, Corazon and Law prepare dinner. Initially Rebecca had planned to prepare sandwiches for everyone but since Law hated bread and Corazon wasn’t a particular fan of it either she decided to eventually prepare onigiris, a rather big salad and grilled fish.

Surprisingly, even if Corazon could be really clumsy he was rather skillful in the kitchen, and you couldn’t help to notice that when Rebecca lent him an apron that had previously belonged to her father, Law became impossibly red when seeing Corazon wearing it. You were really tempted to tease the doctor by saying him is he had a naked-apron kink but you decided not to. After all the man had examined you without letting you pay for his treatment so it would be cruel to tease him for it now. You better wait for another occasion.

After an hour of being resting the gel has already made some effect on you and you feel better, so you get up from the sofa with the intention of helping the rest. However, just at that moment your mobile begins to sound with the tone you had assigned to a certain someone, causing you to sit down again to attend the call.

 “H-Hey, Doffy”, you answer with nervousness because even if you obviously wanted to speak with Doflamingo, you also feared that the man had received not precisely good reports of your training that day and was calling to tell you that you weren’t doing the mission.

However, Doflamingo surprises you by laughing.

“ _My dear (y/n), don’t tell me that you have come back to be that scaredy-cat that trembled the moment I spoke to her_ ”

His familiar teasing manages to make your nervousness fade a little, allowing you to answer in the same teasing vibe.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t. But I remind you that you fell for that scaredy-cat”

“ _Fu fu fu~. Touché. So how has your first day been?_ ”

You gulp, nervousness coming back to you, but you decide to go for it and say the complete truth.

“Weeeell, if you wanted to convince me not to participate in the mission you almost fulfill your goal: Lao G has taught me that I am light years away of beating him in a fight, Gladius has the patient of a saint because I almost blow him with bombs a couple of times, and Monet…well, with Monet everything has gone pretty well. I just hope to be able to move for tomorrow and everything will be perfect”

There is such a silence at the other side of the line that for a moment you think that the connection has failed.

“Doffy? You still there?”, you ask with a cautious voice.

“ _Y-Yes, I’m here_ ”

Your eyes almost abandon your orbits when hearing Doflamingo stuttering in the first word. Okay, it has been a reaaally light stutter but until now you hadn’t ever dreamt that ‘Doflamingo’ and’ ‘stuttering’ could be together in the same sentence.

“Okay, who are you what you’ve done with my boyfriend? He isn’t the kind of man that would ever be left at a loss of words”

Doflamingo bursts out laughing.

“ _You’re right, I’m not that kind of man, but I can’t help to feel amazed by your ability of surprising me. I was pretty sure that you weren’t going to lie to me but I didn’t expect that you were so sincere about your day either_ ”

“Oh”, you say confused, “well, I thought that Lao G, Gladius and Monet were going to report to you”

“ _Yes, they have: Lao G has told me that even if your agility has to be a little improved, you have paid extreme attention to his instructions and you have executed all his attacks without even laughing; Gladius has commented that you still have to work on your aiming with grenades but that you already know the basics of making simple bombs; and well, Monet has said that you haven’t just understood perfectly how she plans to create the virus but that you have also suggested some useful improvements_ ”

You feel your cheeks reddening in an instant. You hadn’t expected that the Family gave such a positive report about you, and you were feeling really grateful to them right now.

“ _So, even if I would prefer that your first mission was a simpler one, I trust in the Family’s judgment, so if in three days they tell me that you are prepared, I guess I’ll have to let you do it_ ”

Doflamingo sounds rather annoyed while talking and you can’t help to feel a little guilty because you were the cause of it.

“Thanks, Doffy”, you say sincerely, causing the man to grunt gruffly.

“ _Don’t thank me yet. Maybe in these three days you don’t meet our expectations and at the end you don’t go_ ”

You sigh and smile with patience.

“And I guess that in that case you will be rather happy”

“ _Well, at least I would feel more at ease knowing that my girlfriend isn’t going to play the role of secretary for that bastard_ ”

Something in Doflamingo’s tone makes your mouth hang opened.

“Wait… don’t tell me that you are _jealous_ ”

There is a rather eloquent silence before Doflamingo speaks with an even more annoyed tone than before.

“ _My dear (y/n), in case you haven’t realized yet, I’m a little… possessive, and when I think about you working closely with that man…_ ”,  Doflamingo exhales a deep sigh, as if he had needed to calm himself a little before talking next, “… _well, let’s say that it makes me feel a little uneasy_ ”  

It takes you some seconds to recover from your astonishment before being able to talk.

“So the problem is that I work with other than you? You must hate Corazon a lot then”

You try to lighten the mood with a joking comment but Doflamingo’s tone keeps being as serious as before.

“ _Corazon has his doctor, so there’s no risk of him doing anything stupid as falling in love with you. Crocodile, on the contrary, hasn’t anyone as far as I know, and his predilection for his secretaries is quite known_ ”

“Doffy, if everything goes as planned I’m going to work with Crocodile two days at most”, you say, exhaling an exasperated laugh, “just _two days_. Do you really think that that time is enough so that he gets interested in me?”

“ _Well, considering that I began to be interested in you the first day I met you yes, I do_ ”

The way you blush right now when hearing Doflamingo’s totally natural comment has nothing to do with the way you have blushed before when hearing the Family’s reports. And damn, you knew that Doflamingo was really annoyed, but you couldn’t prevent a gigantic idiotic happy smile from spreading in your face.

“(y/n)! Dinner is ready!”

At that moment Rebecca calls you from the kitchen. You are about to tell Doflamingo that you had to go but the man is faster.

“ _I’ve heard it. I should be going too. There are some details of the reunion that we still have to ultimate_ ”

“Okay”, you say, “try not to get too bored”

Doflamingo chuckles. At least, he sounded more relaxed now that the subject of Crocodile had been put aside.

“ _I’ll do my best. And you try to rest well. You’ll need it if you want to be prepared for tomorrow’s schedule_ ”

You are about to whine when hearing his too damn satisfied tone.

“Great”, you say instead with a purposely nonchalant tone, “I’m always up for a challenge?”

“ _Oh_?”, you shiver, picturing perfectly the devilish grin that Doflamingo had at that moment in his face, “ _well, in that case maybe I can find some time tonight to modify tomorrow schedule a little so that it is even more interestin-_ ”

“It’s a joke, it’s a joke, please, don’t change it!!”

Doflamingo bursts out laughing when hearing your desperate tone and after torturing you a little more he eventually confirms you that he didn’t plan to change it. After that, you hang up and finally join Rebecca, Corazon and Law in the table.

The dinner was extremely agreeable, and seeing Law teasing Corazon almost continuously was _especially_ funny. Sadly, you could feel yourself dozing off the moment you finished eating, so Corazon and Law took their leave much sooner than you had liked. However, you didn’t have time to protest too much because the moment Rebecca helped you enter your bed, you fell asleep before your head even touch the pillow and the next time you opened your eyes it was already the next morning.

You could still feel a shadow of stiffness invading your whole body but you could move almost perfectly, so your second day of training went way more smoothly than the first one and when you returned home you were as tired as the previous day but the pain was way more bearable.

That routine of training, arriving home exhausted and applying almost a full bottle of cold gel continued during the next two days, and finally the morning of the fifth day Doflamingo called you to his office. Lao G, Gladius and Monet (via video-conference) were already there, and you knew what the result of your training the moment you crossed the door because the irritated aura that surrounded Doflamingo couldn’t be more evident.

The man confirmed you what you had already deduced: that the reports have been positive and that you seemed to be more than ready to participate in the mission. You smiled happily at the three Donquixote members and thanked him effusively. You even dared to circle Doflamingo’s desk to hug him and deposit a loud kiss in his cheek, and even if the man wasn’t precisely happy he didn’t reject your enthusiastic show of affection.

Therefore, now that you knew the basics of how to defend yourself, how to use basic bombs and how the virus worked, the only thing that remained to be done was to choose your disguise, and it was evident who Doflamingo was going to call for help.

And now there you are: in Corazon’s costume shop with the Donquixote brothers, Law, Bartolomeo, Cavendish, Rebecca and almost the entire Donquixote Family to decide what your new look was going to be.

“Okay then”, Corazon takes an enormous book in which almost a thousand of costumes were recorded and settles it over the counter, “the first thing that we should know is how much we should change (y/n). I mean is there a possibility that Crocodile knows who (y/n) is?”

“Well, we don’t exactly know how much Crocodile has been keeping track of our activities this last year”, Doflamingo says crossing his arms and situating next to his brother, “so in the worst case scenario, he may have found out who (y/n) is already”

“Mmmm…”, Rebecca hums to herself while typing rapidly in Corazon’s computer, “if I google (y/n)’s name the only results that pop up are her Facebook account and Twitter”

“And if you google Doflamingo’s girlfriend?”, Law suggests. Rebecca does as the doctor says and clicks her tongue.

“Okay, then there are several more images of the inauguration party and (y/n) appears in most part of them”

“Really?!”, you approach Rebecca and your eyes open wide. Until now it hadn’t ever occurred you to google your own name, but there you were on the Internet: posing with all the Family and with Doflamingo alone, and you can’t help to remember what had happened after the party. You throw a side glance to Doflamingo and blush when seeing that he is smirking at you playfully, as if he was also thinking the same thing.

“Is that really you, (y/n)?”, Bartolomeo says impressed, scanning you from head to toe, “wow, didn’t know that you could be so hot”, Bartolomeo suddenly gets pale and looks at Doflamingo, “I-I’m not flirting with her or anything like that, man, I swear: I-I’m very happy with Cabbage and I like (y/n) a lot but just as a friend and-”

“Fu fu fu~. Relax, kid”, Doflamingo says with amusement after hearing the green-haired punk’s hurried excuses, “since you two are good friends of (y/n) you don’t have to be that afraid of me”

“O-Oh, cool”, Bartolomeo says, a little more relaxed but still making sure not to be too close to the man.

“Rebecca, in any of those photo’s (y/n)’s name is mentioned?”, Viola inquires, leaning over her niece’s shoulder.

“No”, the girl shakes her negatively, “when referring to her they say: ‘Doflamingo’s girlfriend’”

“Great, that will help”, Viola says, “although I’m pretty sure that when the next event takes place there will be more information about her. I guess that for now the media is waiting to confirm that her relationship with Doffy is serious”

“It’s logical. After all, the Boss used to be a really hard-boiled man when he was younger”, Senor Pink suddenly intervenes while keeping trying bonnets of different color, “especially in his twenties he was well known for his fame with the ladies-”

“ _Senor Pink_ …”

Despite Doflamingo’s warning tone the only thing Senor Pink does is to remain quiet while keeping inspecting the shop. You turn to look at Doflamingo.

“ _Oh_?”, you look at Doflamingo with a raised eyebrow, “so you were the kind of man that brought a different woman to every party”

Doflamingo opens his mouth to reply something but just at that moment Corazon intervenes, causing your boyfriend to seem quite relieved for it. Well, you had to remember to ask Senor Pink for more details when Doflamingo wasn’t around.

“Okay, people, let’s focus because we have much to do: since we are not sure how much Crocodile knows about (y/n) we have to change her appearance as much as possible. Bartolomeo, you go grab some secretary costumes. Cavendish, bring all the wigs that you consider more appropriate. And the rest of you, inspect the shop sections to bring make-up, contact lens, fake noses and fake teeth. We will need all of that”

“No need to look for teeth. These ones you have over the counter are perfect”

Corazon looks where Doflamingo is pointing and offers his brother a ‘ _Really?_ ’ expression before rolling his eyes.

“You’re not helping, brother”

“Why not?”, you realize at that moment that Doflamingo has just pointed to some fake teeth that belonged to a Halloween monster, since they were sharp, super crooked and some of them were even black, “that way I will be sure that that bastard doesn’t look at (y/n) with too good eyes”

You sigh with patience.

“Doffy, I tell you again that the fact that you are interested in me doesn’t mean that all men in earth feel the same way. And in the remote case Crocodile could get interested, it will be fine as long as he just looks”

“(y/n) will be right, Doffy”, Baby 5 adds while approaching you together with Buffalo, the two of them wearing several fake noses in their hands, “and in case that bastard dared to do more than looking, now (y/n) knows how to defend herself”

“Oh, yes, Youn-G Master, you do not need to worry about that”, Lao G comments while trying to stop Sugar from throwing all the masks of the shop to Dellinger, “the last new technique that I taught Miss (y/n) is called ‘ _Malfunctionin-G Crotch_ ’ and would cause Sir Crocodile to lose his capacity to procreate”

“Lao G, watch your mouth in front of Sugar”, Jora reproaches the old man before approaching you with a gigantic box of make-up in one hand and a chair in the other, “very well, dear, sit down and close your eyes: I’m going to try some make-up on you that will make you look gorgeous”

“W-Wait a moment, Jora”, Viola almost runs towards the woman when seeing your panicked expression, “umh…remember to choose a discreet make-up”

“Really?”, Jora sounds really disappointed, “but I’m sure that a little of color will be more artistic and interesting”

“Yes, of course, _but_ …”, Rebecca joins Viola and Jora to whisper her next words, “…remember that we don’t want that Crocodile feels too attracted to (y/n), and with your spectacular style of make-up the man would surely fall in love with her”

“Mmm, you are certainly right”, Jora doesn’t noticing the conspiratorial look that aunt and niece share, “alright then: I’ll go for a boring make-up”

“Behehehe! Ne, ne, (y/n), look at this”, suddenly Trebol approaches you with a couple of black and red contact lens, “you can have the eyes of a Ghoul, nee! Try them on, nee, neee!!”

“Trebol, you’re not helping”, Pica exclaims in his usual baritone tone while Diamante exhales an exasperated sigh, offering you several contact lens of more normal colors that cause Trebol to huff in protest while muttering that his choice was cooler.

 “Alright, Corazon-san, I have all the wigs that, I think, can suit (y/n) more”, Cavendish announces, coming from the back-shop with wigs of different hair type, color and length.

“And I have also grabbed all the secretary costumes”, Bartolomeo appears behind Cavendish with at least twenty costumes in his hands.

“Well done, guys”, Corazon says with a smile, “Bartolomeo, please, leave the costumes over the counter so that I can see which ones are easier to adjust to (y/n)”

“Wait a moment, little brother”, Doflamingo gets closer to the counter (which causes Bartolomeo to immediately step aside) and begins to grab the costumes one by one, beginning to discard them aside, “No. No. This on neither…”

“Oi oi oi, Doffy, what are you doing?!”, Corazon hurriedly recovers the costumes that Doflamingo is throwing into the floor without any care, glaring at his older brother.

“I’m just doing a selection”

“A _selection_? Based on what?”

“Well, I’m not letting (y/n) wearing a too sexy uniform around that bastard”

“Okay, and what exactly is wrong with this uniform?”

“Too much cleavage”

“And this one?”

“Shirt almost transparent”

“ _And_ this one?”

“Skirt too provocative”

“…You are going to complain about all the uniforms, right?”

“No, little brother, this one is perfect”

“Doffy, that’s a nun’s habit!!”

“Ups, sorry Cora-senpai. I’ve grabbed that one without noticing”

“Doflamingo, I’ve just had an idea: why doesn’t (y/n)-ya wear the uniform that you sent to her?”

“…Little brother, I don’t like your boyfriend’s sense of humor one bit”

You really wanted to join the uniform’s conversation, but that task was rather impossible at the moment since Jora was trying to make you up following Viola and Rebecca’s indications while Baby 5 tried some fake noses on you _and_ at the same time that Cavendish put some wigs on you.

You suppress a resigned sigh. At the end, it seemed that choosing your disguise was going to be even more complicated than the whole training, or even than the whole mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lao G’s attacks are the ones that appear in the episode 710 of the anime, with the exception of ‘ _Malfunctionin-G Crotch_ ’. That one is mine xD
> 
>  **Spoiler of the next chapter** : the mission will finally start, and evidently there will be some unexpected complications :P
> 
> And I can’t believe that this fic has reached already 200 kudos!! Thank you so much for your support <3 ^^


	19. Mission Part II: Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission finally starts, with more complications that you had initially assumed.

“Alright, next one: state who you are the motive of your visit”

You smile charmingly at the woman that was sitting behind the reception of Baroque Works, praying for thousandth time that the fake teeth that you were wearing didn’t dare to fall while you speak.

“I am Miss White Day and I have come to apply for the position of secretary for Mr. Crocodile”

The receptionist, a red-haired woman that reminded you to a rather fat mole, doesn’t look surprised in the least when hearing you absolutely ridiculous alias, although maybe the fact that ‘ _Mrs. Merry Christmas_ ’ could be read in the woman’s identification had something to do with her lack of reaction. Apparently, the same way that some of Donquixote members had adopted card’s suit names, the members of Baroque Works had adopted names of holidays.

“Alright, in that case fill this questionnaire with your personal data and wait in that room until being called”

You take the pen that the woman offers you and begin to answer the questions, making sure not to write down your real data. 

“Is there any other applicants besides me?”

Your question causes the woman to laugh in a rather strident voice.

“You will see for yourself”, she simply says.

You return the filled paper to the woman before walking to the indicated room, focusing on not to trip with the extra-large heels that you were wearing. You manage to reach your destination safely (attracting more than one look of the employees that rounded around, you notice), and when you enter the room you are about to exhale a curse when seeing that there were at least ten more young women dressed really similar to you sitting in the chairs, waiting patiently for their turn.

“ _Oh, damn. There are more people than we thought…_ ”, you hear Viola say from the mini spy earpiece that you were wearing at that moment, and that allowed all the members of the Donquixote Family not just to hear all what you heard but also to give you instructions. Also, your pasta glasses had a mini-camera hidden so that the rest could also see everything.

“ _Easy everyone. There is no reason to panic yet_ ”, Monets says with a calm tone while you took one of the few empty seats of the room, “ _Diamante, Trebol and Pica have made sure to create an impeccable fake curriculum for Miss White Day, so I’m sure that Crocodile will choose (y/n) over the rest_ ”

“ _Tsk, with the way (y/n) is dressing that bastard will choose her without paying any attention to her curriculum_ ”

You hear Monet and Viola sigh and you yourself has to suppress doing the same when hearing Doflamingo’s obvious displeased comment. At the end, despite Doflamingo’s protests and attempts of dressing you in a way that he considered ‘acceptable’, he had been forced to accept the consensual decision of the family of dressing you as a more-sexy-than-he-would-like secretary.

“ _Youn-G master, everyone, I think we should keep the conversations to a minimum not to distract Miss (y/n)_ ”

You thank internally Lao G’s intervention because the man was right: having the entire family talking just in your ear was really distracting, although you had to admit that it was also nice to know that you weren’t alone.

The truth was that you had been barely able to sleep that night, so that morning Corazon had had to put an extra effort to remove the bags under your eyes with make-up, besides working in disguising yourself.

And yes, it was true that when Bartolomeo and Cavendish had arrived at the shop when you were already dressed up, for some seconds they hadn’t even recognized you, and that you were sure that the disguise was perfect because Corazon had been in charge of it, but now that the mission was about to start for real you couldn’t help to think about all the things that could go wrong: maybe Crocodile identified you immediately, maybe Crocodile didn’t identify you _but_ you ruined the interview and he didn’t hire you, maybe you managed to get the job _but_ you weren’t able to upload the virus, maybe…

 _“(y/n), you’re way too tense_ ”, you are about to jump in your seat when Doflamingo suddenly speaks, “ _I may not approve in the least the way you dress for that bastard, but you are prepared to carry out this mission or otherwise you wouldn’t be there right now, so relax  young lady. I don’t want you to be that nervous around anyone else than me_ ”

You suppress the urge to smile stupidly in the air. Doflamingo’s ability to read you completely even when he wasn’t there to see you didn’t stop amazing you. You feel yourself calming down when hearing his particular way of comforting you, and nod briefly with your head to tell him that you had heard him.

Feeling way more relaxed, you spend the next minutes glancing absentmindedly at one of the magazines while mentally going through the plan. The first step was, obviously, to get the job. The second step was to gain Crocodile’s trust so that you could enter his office with more or less freedom. And last, the third step was to upload the virus. At the end, instead of using an USB to infect Baroque Works system, Monet had managed to configure a mobile in a way that when you approached it to a computer, it automatically allowed her to access that computer as if she was physically there, reducing that way the possibilities of something going wrong. Oh, and the most important thing: you had to do all that in two days at most, to make sure that you destroyed the information before Crocodile met with-

“Inspector Smoker, please, wait in that room. I will inform Crocodile of you presence”

Your eyes open wide in horror when hearing Mrs. Merry Christmas speak at the other side of the waiting room.

No, it couldn’t be. You had surely heard it wrong. There was no way that there was already a complication when you had barely begun the mission.

However, your hopes are crushed when the door opens and inspector Smoker enters the waiting room looking as irritated as usual.

Well. _Shit_.  

“ _What the hell is that man doing there?!_ ”, Baby 5 exclaims, “ _Viola, why is he there?! You told us that it was going to take him more time to visit Crocodile again!_ ”

“ _Baby 5, shouting at me is not going to solve anything, okay?! I don’t know why he is here either: with all the fake leads that I gave him, it should have taken him way more time to arrange another reunion!_ ”

“ _Ladies, ladies, I think you should calm down before-_ ”

“ _SHUT UP, SENOR PINK!_ ”

While you focus on ignoring the girls taking their frustration on poor Senor Pink, you keep your face down not to establish eye contact with the inspector, while praying that he chose the most far away seat of the room.

Obviously, your prayers aren’t listened and after quickly scanning the room Smoker takes the seat that is just next to you. He says a low polite ‘Good morning’ that you answer with a soft hum while continuing staring at your magazine with your heart beating way faster than normal.

“ _Okay, (y/n), there is no reason to panic yet either_ ”, Monet says again, “ _in the remote case Smoker talks to you, remember that you are wearing a costume. There is no way that he recognizes you”_.

“ _Lao-G, go with Machvise and Gladius near Baroque Works. I want to be prepared in case something ends going wrong_ ”

You gulp softly, throwing a side glance towards Smoker to see that he was just leaning against the back of the chair with his arms crossed, completely lost in his thoughts. Well, at least the inspector wasn’t the kind of man that initiated pointless conversations or chit-chats, so as long as you kept a low profile until being called he wouldn’t pay any attention to you.

You swift a little in your seat, giving your back partly to Smoker to remove all the possibilities of the man looking at your face. However, just when you have just adopted that safer position the door of the room opens and Mrs. Merry Christmas appears once again.

“Miss White Day?”

Oh god, yes. Some god had heard you!

“Yes?”, you say immediately, standing up from your seat to walk towards the woman, but at that moment Mrs. Merry Christmas raises her hand.

“Wait, it’s not your turn yet: I just want you to confirm me what you have written here”

You really wanted strangle Mrs. Merry Christmas at that moment for letting your hopes up like that. You force yourself to be super polite while answering the woman’s annoying question. Apparently your writing was too small and she could barely read it, so after writing all your information again you return to your seat.

As you were fearing, the woman’s interruption had caused almost all the people in the room to look at you with curiosity, and inspector Smoker was also among those people.

Okay, there isn’t any motive to panic yet, you think to yourself while sitting again, purposely avoiding to look at the inspector. It was completely normal that people looked at you when you are called in a waiting room, it was just human nature, so that didn’t mean that Smoker was suspecting you or anything and…

“Excuse me, Miss White Day…”

Your heart almost reaches your mouth when Smoker speaks to you, forcing you to look at him if you didn’t want to be extremely rude.

“Yes?”, you say, making sure to soften your voice a little, and when your now (e/c) eyes meet the inspector’s you feel cold sweat invading you when realizing that Smoker wasn’t just looking at you: he was clearly scrutinizing you.

“Maybe I’m mistaken but…could we have met somewhere else?”

You suppress the urge to gulp to show a confused expression instead, feeling perfectly the tension of the Family listening at the other side of the line.

“Mmm I don’t think so”, you adopt again a charming smile full of fake teeth that, you hoped, would convince the inspector that he had never seen you, “I think I would remember an attractive man like you in case of having met him before”

When Smoker raises a skeptic eyebrow you note yourself a win, because somehow you knew that the inspector wasn’t the kind of man to fall for that. In fact, you were pretty sure that the inspector was the kind of man that would ignore that kind of women, so with a little of luck he would ignore you from now on.

You think that you have managed to shoo Smoker away because the man averts his eyes for a moment but then he looks at you again before speaking with a mocking impressive voice.

“Well, I didn’t know that Doflamingo allowed his women to speak in such a way to other men”

Smoker’s sudden sentence catches you so completely off of guard that an angry frown appears on your face before you remember that Miss White Day didn’t know Doflamingo, and that therefore it had no sense at all that Miss White Day reacted that way when being referred in such an offending way, and when seeing the triumphant lopsided smile that the inspector offers you, you realize that your cover has been completely exposed.

You let out a long sigh while hearing the members of the Family curse and insult the inspector to their heart content. Damn, you really hated yourself right now. How damn stupid you have been, falling into such an obvious provocation.

“How the hell have you known that it was me?”, you ask with a defeated tone, knowing that it was useless to pretend not being you, not after showing such an incriminatory reaction.

“Your eyes”, Smoker says simply without stopping looking at you, “you may have changed the color, but the stubborn determination that they show is difficult to hide, Miss (y/n)”

Against your will, you feel a little impressed when hearing Smoker’s explanation. Definitely, the Family had underestimated this man’s abilities.

“ _I should have killed this pest the first time he got in my way_ ”, you shiver because Doflamingo has sounded scarily serious, _“(y/n), we are aborting the mission_ ”

Even if Doflamingo’s tone didn’t leave space to disobedience, you weren’t prepared to abandon the mission. Yes, it was true that you weren’t counting with Smoker’s intervention at all, and that you had complicated everything even more by reacting in such a stupid way, but you didn’t want to give up, not yet, because you have just had an idea.

Therefore, you begin to tap rhythmically with your finger over your knee, diverting your eyes towards your hand so that the Family could see the gestura because that was the signal that you and the Family had established to say that the mission kept going, since talking was out of the question if you didn’t want to look like a mad woman that talked aloud to herself.

“ _Young lady, haven’t you listened to me? I’ve said that the mission is ove-_ ”

“Alright, inspector Smoker, I have a proposal for you”, you know that you were going to pay later for having ignored Doflamingo like that, “a proposal that will benefit both of us”

Smoker snorts, his gaze turning harsh.

“Sorry Miss, but I’m not interested in the least in collaborating with a member of the Donquixote Family to-”

“I’m not a member of a Donquixote Family anymore”

You don’t know who it’s more surprised when hearing your cutting sentence: if the Family, for the gasps that they exhale, or Smoker, for the way his eyes snap open.

“And so just you know”, you hope that your resentful tone is credible enough, “I’m not ‘ _Doflamingo’s woman_ ’ anymore: that asshole pushed me away the moment I stopped entertaining him, so you can laugh now and say that ‘ _I told you_ ’ with ease, inspector”

You are seriously proud of yourself when you manage to make your voice tremble at the end. You avert your eyes to the side while sighing, pretending to be calming yourself. You were really afraid that your wounded woman act hadn’t worked, but when after some seconds you look back at Smoker and see the completely honest concerned expression that he is showing, you know that he has fallen for your act completely. Damn, that man was too nice for his own good.

“I’m not going to laugh at you, miss”, Smoker says with such an understanding tone that you can’t help to feel a little guilty for being tricking the inspector in such a way, “but believe me: cutting ties with that man is the best thing you could have done”

You exhale a trembling laugh.

“Yes, I have learnt that by the bad way”, you say adopting a sad smile, “so do you want to listen to my proposal now?”

This time Smoker nods and you begin to talk. Or better said: to lie.

While feeling the members of the Donquixote Family holding their breath, you tell the inspector that since Doflamingo had treated you so badly you had decided to take revenge by going to one of his more powerful competitors to send information about Doflamingo, and that you had used a disguise because you were afraid that Doflamingo had spies infiltrated in Crocodile’s company.

Smoker listens to you with attention, almost without interrupting you, and when you add with a trembling voice that you hoped to ruin that bastard’s life Smoker pats your back softly, trying to comfort you.

“Don’t worry, miss: I can assure you that that man will obtain what he deserves”, he assures you with a determined tone, “I can’t tell you all the details but I’m here to make him pay for all he had done, so it’s not necessary for you to take any risks. Simply go home, rest, and keep with your routine without thinking about that bastard anymore”

You sob noisily and nod.

“By the way, inspector, can you do me a last favor?”, you extract your mobile from your pocket, “could you please give me your phone number? I would feel better knowing that I can contact you in case that bastard tries to do something to me”

Your heart skips a beat when Smoker seems to hesitate, but eventually he nods.

“Yes, of course”

The inspector extracts his mobile and begins to tell you his phone number. You pretend to be saving it in your contacts agenda but actually you make the most of those brief seconds to write a note on your phone directed to the Family, and especially to Monet, who laughs mischievously after reading it.

“ _Alright, leave that to me_ ”

Just when Smoker has told you the last digit, the door of the waiting room opens and Mrs. Merry Christmas appears. That had been close!

“Inspector Smoker, Mr. Crocodile will receive you now”

You feel your heart become crazy in your chest when Smoker stands up, ready to follow the old woman.

“See you, Miss (y/n). And don’t hesitate in contacting me if something happens”

You answer Smoker with a nod, following the inspector with your eyes until he abandons the room. You count until ten, giving the man time to go meet with Crocodile. After that you also stand up from your seat and exit the waiting room.

“ _Great job (y/n)!!!_ ”, you hear Baby 5 exclaim just in your ear before the members of the Family hush her not to shout that much.

“ _Young lady, by behaving in such a despicable way you’re making me fall for you even harder_ ”

You have to suppress the urge to smile when realizing that Doflamingo totally meant what he said.

“Well, we still have to see if this plan is going to work”, you ask between gritted teeth, approaching the drink vending machine that was closer to Mr. Crocodile office, “Monet, did you manage to do it?”

“ _Of course. Be prepared, Miss White Day: everything should begin in three…_ ”

You select your favorite drink…

“ _…two…_ ”

You hear the ‘clank’ sound that the drink makes when it falls…

“ _…one…_ ”

You take your chosen drink and take a long sip, trying to wet your dry throat…

“ _Now!_ ”

At exactly the same time that Monet says that word, the door of the chief’s office opens and Crocodile exists from it rather violently. He was wearing his black hair combed backwards, a cigar between his teeth and a black suit, and even if he was shorter than Doflamingo (1,87 meters), the scar that crossed his face from one side to the other, his left prosthetic hand permanently covered in a black glove, and his muscular complexity gave him a rather intimidating appearance (although Doflamingo still won, of course).

“Mrs. Merry Christmas, I want Paula here right now””

Even if Crocodile’s voice was calmed, the way his right hand was turned into a fist over the counter showed how angry the man really was.

“Right now?”, the woman says confused, “but sir, Paula is in a reunion right now with that client and-”

Crocodile hits the reception counter with his fist, causing the decorations that were over it to tremble violently.

“I don’t care where she is: I think someone has just tried to sneak in my computer and I need Paula _right now_ ”

“B-But she is at the other side of the city! There is no way that she can be here soon and-”

…and it was your moment to shine.

 “Umh…excuse me?”

You have to raise your voice a little so that Crocodile and Mrs. Merry Christmas pay you attention. As you were expecting, Crocodile looks at you with an expression mix impatience and annoyance, as if he was about to say you to fuck off, but it doesn’t go unnoticed by you the way he briefly scans you from head to toe, stopping in your cleavage not too much to be considered a creep but just enough to convince you that he definitely liked your disguise.

“Miss, I wouldn’t mind to chat with you later but in case you haven’t noticed I’m a little busy right now”, Crocodile says with an impatient tone, so you make sure to look acceptably nervous when talking next (not that you had to pretend much at this moment, anyway).

“I-I understand”, you say, making also sure to speak with a softer voice, “but I couldn’t help to hear about that hacking attempt and I’ve thought that maybe you could require my help: I am a computer engineering and I know that, in this kind of situation, the more you wait the worse the hacking can turn out, and since security systems is my main topic I think I could solve your problem”

Crocodile changes the cigar from one side to the other inside his mouth, looking at you with curiosity this time.

“And who are you exactly?”

You are about to answer but Mrs. Merry Christmas surprises you by talking. Apparently, the woman wanted to avoid a fight with her boss and was going to make the most of your offer to try to avoid a conflict.

“She is Miss White Day”, she says with a high-pitched voice, “she has come to apply for the position of secretary and according to her curriculum she has been working with…”

The woman rapidly reads aloud the parts of the curriculum that had been completely made up by the Executives plus Senor Pink, and you confirm that the men were experts in falsifying that kind of documents because Crocodile was clearly buying everything that was written on the report.

“Very well, Miss White Day”, Crocodile says after some seconds, “I take up your offer, but if you disappoint me…”, Crocodile points at you with his cigar, “…you will lose more than the possibility of working for me, understood?”

You nod trying not to look too confident before finally following the man inside his office. Smoker is sitting in one of the chairs situated in front of Crocodile’s desk, and when hearing the door open he turns his face to look towards the sound. You can see an expression of confusion appearing in his face but you avert your eyes quickly, avoiding as much eye contact as possible.

“Very well, Miss White Day: do your job”

Crocodile makes a wide gesture with his left fake hand towards his personal computer, allowing you to sit down on his chair.

“Mr. Crocodile, what is this woman doing here?”, Smoker asks with a too casual tone then, still looking at you.

“Doing me a favor, inspector. You don’t have to worry about her: I’ll be with you again in a second”

You can feel the two men’s eyes fixed on you, but you just focus on your task in hand: that was to pretend not to know what exactly was going on Crocodile’s computer and give the impression that you were working hard to fix it.

“So?”, Crocodile asks after just a minute, sounding clearly impatient, “can you fix it?”

“Yes, I think so”, you say, typing some commands that actually weren’t doing anything, “as you have said someone has tried to access your computer, probably with the intention of stealing some information of your company, but fortunately the person who has done this seemed to be in a rush because he (or she) had left some traces and-”

“Miss, in English”

You suppress the urge of rolling your eyes when Crocodile interrupts you rudely, remembering that Miss White Day was a rather impressionable woman that wouldn’t react with annoyance.

“O-Oh, sorry”, you clear your throat, “what I wanted to say is that in order to access the system in such a way, the one who has done this has to be in this same building or the hacking would have been impossible to do”

There is a brief moment of silence in which you almost can hear your own heart because now the moment of truth was coming.

 “Inside the building?”, Crocodile repeats, “where?”

“W-Well, that’s more difficult to know”, you say with a rather convincing apologetic tone, “I’m almost 100% sure that the hacker has needed to use some kind of controllable device (a mobile, for example) in order to access, but that´s all”, you pretend to think for a moment before your eyes open wide, as if an idea had come to your mind, “although if you can tell me when the hacking has begun maybe we can deduce who is the one at fault”

Another moment of silence falls in the room, this time charged with tension. You suppress the urge to gulp, trying to look as calmed as possible while Crocodile turns to look at Smoker, his black eyes shining in a dangerous way.

“Inspector Smoker can you show me your mobile, please?”

The moment Crocodile spells those words aloud, the door of the office opens and a tall, muscular black man with very short hair enters, and for his firm stand you deduce that that man was Crocodile’s bodyguard.

Smoker looks at the newcomer briefly, not looking impressed at all, before reluctantly extracting his mobile from his pocket.

“Mr. Crocodile, I don’t know what kind of problems you are having but I can assure you that I’m not the one you’re looking fo-”

Before Smoker can finish his sentence or check his phone, the black man approaches the inspector with a rather impressive speed and takes his mobile from him, offering it to Crocodile.

“Thank you, Mr. Zero”

Crocodile observes the device briefly, and although a smirk spreads in his face the anger in his eyes was even more noticeable.

“Well well, Inspector Smoker”, Crocodile shows the device to Smoker, whose impassible expression turns in one of horror when seeing the interminable lines of unintelligible code that were appearing in the screen of his device, “I think I have found the hacker. What’s wrong: you didn’t have enough with the information I was going to give you and you wanted to steal mine as well?”

The moment you hear those words leaving Crocodile’s mouth, you can barely suppress a relieved sigh.

It worked.

Your plan has worked.

However, you weren’t out of danger yet, because at that moment Smoker’s horrified expression turns into an understanding one and you feel a shiver traverse down your spine when the man glares at you, indicating you that now he knew it.

Okay, maybe he didn’t know all the details: maybe he didn’t know that you had asked Monet to hack his mobile by using yours in the waiting room, allowing her to control the inspector’s mobile from then on; and probably he didn’t know either that the virus that Monet had uploaded in Crocodile’s computer was completely inoffensive and the only thing had done was to activate the system alarms, with the only intention of putting the blame on him; but what the inspector surely knew was that you had laid a trap on him, so now you had to get yourself prepared for what was going to come next, that would be Smoker discovering your true identity.

That was going to imply that you would be forced to abandon your disguise, and that you would have to convince Crocodile that you weren’t Doflamingo’s girlfriend anymore, that you had just left him (or even better, having ran away from him) and that you had come to Crocodile so that he helped you to seek revenge out of the man, and that therefore you didn’t have anything to do with the hacking. This part of the plan was risky as hell, but it was the only way.

“Well, inspector, do you have something to say in your defense?”

You are so busy thinking about the story that you are going to tell Crocodile that you almost fail to notice the silence that has fallen after the man talked. You look at Smoker, waiting for his accusation, but then you realize that the inspector is hesitating, as if he was just having an internal debate. You suppress in time looking at him surprise. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

At that moment, Smoker takes a deep breath and finally stops glaring at you to look at Crocodile.

“I repeat that I don’t have anything to do with thi-”

Before Smoker can be prepared for it Crocodile raises his right hand and punches the inspector in the face with such force that the man gives a couple of steps backwards.

“Alright inspector, in case this wasn’t clear enough…”, Crocodile approaches the inspector, who simply rubs his jaw while keeping his eyes locked in the man, “…the deal is off. Mr. Zero will accompany you to the exit and, if I were you, I wouldn’t visit this place ever again”

Smoker doesn’t say anything. He just removes a drop of blood that had appeared in the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and after dedicating you a harsh glare he allows Mr. Zero to accompany him out of the room.

You are still assuming that Smoker has just covered for you when Crocodile presses a small button that was on his desk that causes Mrs. Merry Christmas to appear in the room.

“Yes, Mr. Crocodile?”

“Mrs. Merry Christmas, please, go to the waiting room and tell the other candidates to go home”, your eyes open wide in astonishment when Crocodile takes your hand into his right one and approaches your palm to his mouth in an obvious seductive way, his black eyes shining with a mix of admiration and something else that Doflamingo wasn’t going to like one bit, “I have just decided who my new secretary is going to be”

This time, while hearing the loud exclamations and approvals of the family and Doflamingo’s irritated ‘ _Bastard,_ _don’t you dare to ogle my girlfriend that way_ ’ just in your ear, you don’t have to fake the wide smile that also spreads on your face.

* * *

After signing all the necessary papers that determined that you were Crocodile’s new secretary, Mrs. Merry Christmas shows you your new workplace (that was the room situated exactly next to Crocodile’s office) and you immediately begin to work by beginning to organize the reunions that Crocodile had the next week.

You aren’t able to talk freely to the Family until you leave Baroque Works, later that afternoon. All the members congratulate you for the job, and even if Doflamingo was still annoyed for the way Crocodile had flirted with you, he admits that your way of ‘removing Smoker out of the equation’ had been perfect.

Now, the bad news were that, in order to assure that your disguise wasn’t going to be discovered, the Family had decided that it was better if you didn’t go around Donquixote Company until the mission was over, which meant that you couldn’t see Doflamingo either until then.

Also, now that you didn’t need to go against the clock because Smoker weren’t a threat anymore, Monet decided to spend another week improving the virus, since when using Smoker’s device she had seen that Baroque Work’s security was better than she had imagined and therefore she wanted to be sure that the virus was going to work.

Of course, Doflamingo wasn’t happy in the least to hear that you were going to work for Crocodile for more time than you had initially planned. However, after listening to Monet’s sounded arguments, he had to admit that it would be a pity to ruin the mission because of his more than obvious jealousy.

After Doflamingo accepted the new plan, you sent a quick message to Kalifa, Koala and Vivi saying that you were going to miss the next classes due to job (it wasn’t a lie in fact) and finally went home. Rebecca was already there and the moment she saw you she bombarded you with questions without even waiting for you to remove that annoying wig and fake teeth. You answer all of her questions (which took you almost a whole hour) and when Rebecca suggests that you should eat dinner outside to celebrate the successful start of the mission you agree, although before there was something that you definitely needed to know.

* * *

“So you want to talk to inspector Smoker”

“Yes”, you say, making sure to look confident while answering to a female officer whose age had to be really similar to yours.

“And why exactly do you want to talk to him?”

“Umh…”, you exhale a nervous laugh while the female officer looks at you with suspicion, “…it’s kind of a private matter, you know? But as I’ve said it’s really, _really_ urgent so please, would you allow me to talk to him?”

The female officer half-closes even more but eventually she agrees to take you towards Smoker’s office, which apparently had changed location since the last time you had visited the police.

You stand behind the woman when she knocks at the door, and you feel nervousness invading you when you hear Smoker’s voice at the other side of the door, finally realizing that doing this visit had probably been a really bad idea.

 “Yes, Tashigi?”

“Inspector Smoker”, the female officer that responded to the name of Tashigi opens the door a little and slips just her head inside, “I’m sorry to bother you but there is a woman that wants to talk to you. She says it is really urgent”

“A woman?”, Tashigi opens more the door and when Smoker sees you, his expression turns immediately in one of anger, “ _out_ ”

When hearing him practically spat that word you think once again that definitely visiting the man to whom you have set a trap wasn’t the best idea ever, but now that you were there you didn’t plan to come back empty handed.

“Look, inspector”, you begin with a conciliatory voice that just makes Smoker look even angrier, “I know that you probably don’t want to see me right now but-”

“Are you deaf, miss?”, Smoker stands up with such vehemence that his chair almost falls into the floor, “I’ve said _out_. I don’t want anything to do with the likes of you. Tashigi, accompany this woman to the exit”

Tashigi tries to grab your arm to make you leave the room but you avoid her grip and walk towards Smoker until being just in front of his desk, causing the man to almost destroy the cigars that he has in his mouth with the way he grits his teeth.

“Miss, I consider myself a rather patient man but you are really testing my limits right now”

“Why?”, you ask simply instead, not feeling too threatened for the inspector’s words, because one of the advantages of having Doflamingo as a boyfriend was that once you managed to survive his intimidating stance, there was little that could impress you again, “why haven’t you said anything about me before? I want to know it”

You were speaking rather abstractly on purpose, since that female officer was still in the room. Smoker stares at you so harshly that you think for a moment that the man was going to take the matter in his hands and kick you out of the office himself. However, at the end he just sighs briefly before speaking.

“Tashigi, leave us alone for a moment”, even if the woman looked extremely curious and confused, she nods briefly before leaving, closing the door behind her, “and don’t try to eavesdrop”

You hear the woman outside curse before her step fade rapidly, and if you weren’t surrounded by that rather heavy tension you would have probably laughed at the patient tone that Smoker had used on his subordinate.

“I haven’t said anything because despite their obvious rivalry, Crocodile and your dear boyfriend behave really similarly when someone opposes to them”, Smoker answers with a tone that clearly reveals his aversion for the two men, “and if Crocodile had discovered your relation with Doflamingo, maybe he would have tried to go after you, and that’s something I didn’t want to weigh in my conscience even if you probably deserve it”

You can’t help to gulp when hearing the inspector’s words.  It was true that, one way or another, you would have ended ruining Smoker and Crocodile’s deal, but the fact that the inspector had helped you even after having laid that trap on him made you feel rather guilty.

“And now, since I’ve already answered your question I would like to continue with my job, which has just multiplied thanks to you”

The inspector sits down again in his chair, focusing on his papers again to clearly hint that he wanted you out of here.

“I’m sorry”

The words escape you mouth before even thinking, and you certainly can’t blame Smoker when he raises his brown eyes towards you and snorts with skepticism.

“Miss, spare me your apologies. Just keep out of my way because it has finally become crystal clear for me that you are a faithful member of the Donquixote family, and that therefore you can’t be trusted, so this has been the last time I cover for you”

Being called a faithful Donquixote member makes you happy, but you can’t help to think that it was a pity that you couldn’t get along with the inspector, because he was a really nice man, a man who was able to put someone else’s wellbeing before his career or professional interests.

However, it was precisely that impeccable righteousness what caused Smoker to go after Doflamingo restlessly, and consequently that meant that you would be always in opposite sides, even if you couldn’t help to admire a little the inspector’s stubbornness of keeping trying to go after Doflamingo without giving up, despite how useless that act was.

“Okay”, you eventually say. You are about to leave the office but you can’t help to add something else, “but when I’ve said sorry, I really meant it. And also…”, you offer the inspector a sincere smile, “…thank you for having covered for me. I really owe you one, a big one, so if at some point you need help with something feel free to ask me and I’ll help you, as long as what you ask doesn’t go against Doffy because, as you’ve said, I’m a faithful member of his Family”

One of Smoker’s cigars slip from his mouth when this one hangs opened in disbelief after hearing your completely honest words. Fortunately, he manages to catch it in the air before it lands over his desk, making a mess in his paperwork.

“Tsk, damn weird woman”, Smoker mutters to himself before practically snarling his next words at you, “just get out of my sight already and take care of yourself, understood?”

Even if Smoker kept being angry, his words clearly lacked actual biting, so there was no way that you couldn’t add something to that.

“Careful, inspector. You shouldn’t worry about a Donquixote Member”

When seeing the way Smoker half-close his eyes at you threateningly you disappear out his office with a cheery ‘ _bye_ ’, and you can’t help to show a small smile when the inspector curses once again a resigned ‘ _damn weird woman’_ just before you close the door behind you.

* * *

At the end, working as Crocodile’s secretary was way more tiring than you had initially expected. You didn’t just have to organize his reunions, but you also had to attend his clients, personally and by phone, and of course you had to behave politely and with a smile even if some clients were clearly asking to be insulted.

Also, since the news of a virus almost accessing to the system had spread, everyone in the office knew that you had ‘great programming skills’ (as certain employee told you), so every time that someone had a problem with his/her computer, you were the one who was in charge of solving it.

Finally, even if at first you thought that Doflamingo was exaggerating regarding Crocodile’s behavior towards you, eventually you had to acknowledge that Crocodile was _definitely_ interested in you:

For example, every time that you brought coffee to him, his fingers brushed yours for more time than necessary while accepting the mug that you offered to him;

He often visited you with the excuse of seeing how you were doing and he always situated behind your chair, leaning over you to theoretically look over your shoulder but you had perfectly felt one of the times that he had subtly smelled your (fake) hair while doing so;

During the brief recess you had in the morning, the man always managed to be free at that moment as well to join you in the resting area, causing the rest of the female employees that had been working there for more time than you to look at you with clearly disapproval;

And finally, he always offered to take you home at the end of the day, thing that you always politely rejected.

Thankfully, the ones that usually monitored you while doing the mission was Baby 5 and Buffalo, since Doflamingo and the rest were as busy as always, and that was something that you were grateful for because if it was already tiring to stand Crocodile’s unnecessary attentions, you would become crazy if besides that you had to also stand Doflamingo’s irritated comments in your ear.

At least, the good part of having Crocodile’s interest was that the man lowered his guard more and more towards you, to the point that by the end of the week you had gathered a good amount of information about him and you could practically enter Crocodile’s office when you wanted and no one saw that fact weird. And yes, you were pretty sure that by then everyone was assuming certain things regarding your relation with Crocodile, but of course you didn’t care at all that Miss White Day’s reputation was questioned. After all, you were going to disappear from there really soon.

At the end, it took Monet a week and half to finish the virus, and after she uploaded the new version in your mobile you  and the Family agreed to begin the final step of the mission the soonest an opportunity presented.

You just had to wait a couple of more days to find the perfect moment to carry out the plan: Crocodile was going to hold a meeting during the afternoon that promised to be rather long, so that would be the perfect moment to act. 

“Miss White Day, I will be busy for the next couple of hours at least”, Crocodile says to you that same day, entering your office without knocking as usual, “so unless there is a life-or-death situation I don’t want to be bothered”

You nod and offer him that fake smile that you had got so used to show during those two weeks.

“Of course, sir Crocodile. Leave that to me”

Crocodile chuckles softly before approaching your table, leaning his arms over it.

 _Oh no, here he goes again_.

“And I guess what your answer is going to be but if you wait for me to finish, it would be a pleasure to take you home”

He says that with a light scolding tone makes you want to roll your eyes, but you refrain that impulse and answer with a purposely shy tone.

“T-Thank you, sir Crocodile, but I like walking”, no, you don’t, “maybe next time”, there wasn’t going to be a next time, fortunately.

Crocodile sighs in apparent defeat before stopping leaning over the desk.

“One day I’ll make you say yes”

You force yourself to chuckle in feigned embarrassment while thanking internally that Doflamingo hasn’t joined the rest of the Family yet because otherwise he would have begun to insult Crocodile right then.

The moment Crocodile leaves, you stand up from your chair and walk as noiselessly as you can towards the door that communicated your workplace with Crocodile’s main office. You crouch to look through the keyhole and even if you can barely see anything (you didn’t know why this technique was so damn used in some movies) you can hear when Crocodile leaves his room to go to the meeting room.

Since it was going to be a really long reunion (Crocodile himself had said that) you spend the next half-an-hour checking in the device that everything was prepared for the final step. You have just finished all the verifications when Doflamingo finally joins the rest of the Family.

“ _Have I missed something?_ ”, you hear Doflamingo say at the other side.

“ _Nothing important_ ”, Viola says, purposely omitting Crocodile’s previous flirting, “ _we have almost half-an-hour to do this so there shouldn’t be any problem, right Monet?_ ”

“ _Right. It will take the mobile around ten minutes to upload the virus, fifteen at most, so everything is going really smoothly_ ”

Doflamingo grunts to himself before talking to you.

“ _How are you doing, (y/n)? Nervous_ ”

“ _Nah_ ”, you say, happy to stop having to talk with Miss White Day’s annoying sweet voice, “ _I have just checked that everything is right so I hope to be out of here in no time_ ”

Doflamingo chuckles.

“ _I can’t wait to have you here again_ ”

The way Doflamingo says that sentence causes your stomach to jump briefly in anticipation. Yes, definitely the first place that you hoped to see after leaving Baroque Works was Doflamingo’s bedroom and that amazing king-sized bed of his, but unfortunately job went first and you had to stay focused right now.

After checking that Crocodile’s office is empty you enter. Since you didn’t want anyone outside to know that you were here, you keep the lights off and carefully approach Crocodile’s desk. As always, his computer was turned on and showing the login screen, requiring a password that Monet was hoping to break soon by using all the information you have gathered.

“Okay, Monet, I have just activated the mobile”, you mutter, realizing that you were more nervous than you expected when hearing your own voice tremble a little.

“ _Perfect. Since we have time, connect it directly to the computer. This will accelerate the process_ ”

You do as Monet says and fix your eyes on the screen, observing the way Monet begins to control the computer as if she was physically there.

“ _Okay, checking passwords_ ”, it just barely takes her half-a-minute to find the correct one, “ _okay, the password was in the list you passed me, (y/n), well done. I haven’t had to do hack anything at the end_ ”

“Let me guess, the password was Pluton?”

You know you have guessed right when Monet begins to laugh.

“ _Yes: P1ut0n_. _How did you know?_ ”

“He has been talking about it during this last week non-stop”, you explain, while observing Monet accessing to the computer and beginning to do her magic, “apparently it is the most modern security system that exists nowadays”

“ _Oh, is that so?_ ”, Doflamingo comments with interest, “ _well, in that case I will buy it before him. Monet, make sure to recover all the information you can about his potential sellers_ ”

“ _Roger_ ”, Monet says with a devilish tone.

During the next minutes, you stand behind the desk while staring at the screen, listening to the Family’s occasional comments. At first you are rather in tension, but as the time passes and as the virus keeps infecting the system effectively and without activating any alarms, you begin to relax, thinking to yourself that, with the exception of the unexpected appearance of Smoker at the beginning, the rest of the mission had been pretty easy.

“ _Okay, the virus is already at 30%_ ”, Monet says, “ _if it keeps going at this rhythm in ten more minutes we will have finished_ ”

You smile to yourself, thinking that definitely, you could get used to have this kind of double-life.

However, as if providence had just heard you and had decided to punish you for being too optimistic, at that exact moment the door of the office begins to open and you freeze in place when seeing Crocodile standing there, looking at you with a surprised expression.

_“SHIT!”_

You hear all the Family exclaim that at the same time in your ear, saying exactly what you were thinking. Damn, not even an hour had passed, what the hell was doing Crocodile there?!

“Miss White Day?”, at least his tone just sounded confused for now.

 “H-Hey”, you are so damn hysterical that you forget for a moment to speak as Miss White Day, “y-you have finished your reunion really soon, sir. Has it gone well?”

You desperately try to gain some time while thinking what the fuck you were going to do, making the most of Crocodile still confused state, but as you were fearing when he talks you can detect a hint of impatience.

“Yes, my reunion has gone unexpectedly well, but I’ve just formulated a question, Miss White Day”, Crocodile begins to approach you slowly, without bothering to turn on the lights, “what are you doing here?

You gulp, feeling your heart accelerate with each step Crocodile does towards you.

Shit.

Shit, you have to think _fast_. Why should Miss White Day be in Crocodile’s office? You had to find a good excuse and-

You gulp again, this time for a different reason.

Damn.

Damn, an idea suddenly pops in your mind.

An idea that could more or less explain what you were doing there.

But definitely, Doflamingo wasn’t going to like this _AT ALL_.

“Umh…w-well”, you circle a little clumsily his desk to be giving your back to it and the computer, using your body to hide the mobile that was on the desk, “it is a little embarrassing, but I am here b-because I planned to give you a surprise”

Crocodile arches an eyebrow.

“A surprise?, he repeats, suspicion dripping still from his voice, “and what kind of surprise would require you to stay in my office without my permiss-?”

Crocodile stops talking at once when you roll back your shoulders and let the jacket that you were wearing fall into the floor. Crocodile follows the movement with his eyes, and when his eyes meet yours again you settle your hands on your fitted shirt, beginning to unbutton it until your bra is partly exposed.

“ _What the…?_ ”

You focus on ignoring Doflamingo’s, making sure to keep your eyes on Crocodile, whose gaze was now lingering between your face and your partly exposed breasts, a thin line of sweat covering his forehead, which indicates you that your little show hadn’t let him indifferent.

“Well, sir, since you have already ruined my surprise”, your approach the man and bats your eyelashes exaggeratedly at him, “I guess it has no sense to wait anymore”

“Miss White Da-?”

Crocodile’s words are cut when you grab the lapels of his suit and force his head down to snap an improvised kiss against his mouth. Crocodile’s whole body stiffs for a moment when your lips meet his, and you are momentarily afraid that the man has somehow discovered your distraction plan. However, after some seconds of hesitation you finally feel Crocodile’s orthopedic hand settling on your lower back while the other passes to grab the back of your head, and when Crocodile tilts his head to the side to return the kiss, you know that the man has been completely fooled.

“ _Son of a bitch!”_

Hearing a completely irate Doflamingo howling that just in your ear causes you to suffer a nervous shiver down your spine. Crocodile interprets that your reaction has been because of him, which causes the man to groan against your lips before pushing you a little forcibly against his desk, the sudden action causing you to gasp, and since Doflamingo wasn’t there to see that that sound that had escaped your mouth was just out of surprise, you shiver again ( _damn!_ ) when hearing Doflamingo hiss a curse. Damn, you could perfectly imagine the dark aura that was surrounding him right then.

_“Enough: I’m going to kill that bastard RIGHT NOW”_

“ _D-Doffy, please, calm down, you can’t go there! Diamante, Trebol, stop him!!_ ”

“ _You have heard Viola, Diamante, neee! Help me stop Doffy, neeee!_ ”

“ _Boss, relax! There is no way that Crocodile’s kisses are more hard-boiled than yours so-”_

“ _Senor Pink, SHUT UP, you’re just aggravating the situation_!”

The comments of the Family, and particularly the last comment that Pica has practically shouted in his strident voice, weren’t helping you to focus on your current situation, that consisted of Crocodile slowly parting your legs with his knees while subtly licking your bottom lip, clearly asking for entrance.

You feel your heart accelerate, because kissing Crocodile in order to distract him was one thing, but things were about to escalate to a level that definitely you didn’t want to reach. Besides, Crocodile’s position couldn’t be worse because if the man diverted his eyes towards his desk he could notice the mobile that was now uploading the virus in his computer, and in that case you all could say goodbye to a successful mission.

After thinking rapidly about your options you conclude that it was mandatory to make Crocodile change position, and since the man seemed about to set comfortably between your legs your had to stop him before he did so, or moving him after that was going the be the hell out more complicated. Therefore, just when you feel his tongue about to prove inside your mouth (like hell if you wanted to feel another tongue that wasn’t Doflamingo’s long one inside you) you make your move by diverting your mouth towards Crocodile’s right pierced ear.

As you were expecting, the moment your lips close around the earring Crocodile hisses a groan while stopping his actions, giving you finally the chance to subtly guide the man to be the one in leaning against the desk. Great. Now he couldn’t see the mobile, and as long as you kept being with your face next to his right side there was no way he could see it.

 _“The virus is at 70%, (y/n). It is almost there_ ”, Monet announces.

Alright, you just had to keep Crocodile busy another 30%. You could do it…as long as Doflamingo didn’t lose his patience and came to kill Crocodile with his own hands.

“Well, Miss White Day”, Crocodile purrs with a surprised though extremely pleased tone, “I didn’t know that you had such a passionate side in you. Why exactly have you waited so much to give such a delicious surprise?”

You suppress the urge of rolling your eyes. Definitely, Crocodile’s ego was in inverse proportion to his intuition with women, but hey right now this was an advantage for you, so while adopting your best sexy smile you enclose your arms around Crocodile’s broad neck, approaching your face to his so that he didn’t look anywhere but you.

“Maybe I didn’t notice your advances”, you say with a sickening innocent tone, “or maybe I like to play hard to get”

Gosh, you were really dying from embarrassment saying those sentences, but for the way Crocodile smirks it seemed that it worked…and for the way you hear Doflamingo’s teeth grit it seemed that he wasn’t as pleased. Damn, if you had guessed that you would end playing the role of a bimbo in love with Crocodile maybe you had thought it better before accepting the mission.

“So you’ve been pretending all this time”, Crocodile chuckles in a low tone, “oh, Miss White Day, what a bad girl you’ve been”

Crocodile’s real hand travels down until stopping in your ass to give it a playful pinch that causes you to gasp (again) in surprise.

“ _That son of a bitch! I’m going to cut his other hand, I SWEAR”_

Damn, how the hell did Doflamingo know what Crocodile had just done?! Was he able to differentiate your different gasps or what?! And wait a minute, if that was the case it was really impressive. And really _hot_.

“Kuhahaha~ You are blushing madly, Miss White Day”, _Crap!_ That has been Doflamingo’s fault! “could it be that this is your first time doing something like this?”

Crocodile leans to whisper that last sentence just in your right ear, which allows you to cast a glance to the mobile just at the same time that Monet speaks again.

“ _(y/n), 85%, just a little more_ ”

85%. Come on, it was almost there! And now that the virus was about to be uploaded you better begin to think in a way to recover the phone without Crocodile from noticing, because that was a little detail that you haven’t had time to think about before kissing the man, clever you.

“Miss White Day?”

 _“90%, (y/n)_ ”

Come _on_!

“Y-Yes, yes, it’s my first time”, you snap in a tone a little higher than usual when Crocodile’s lips graze the side of your neck, “so please, be gentle with me, Boss”

Crocodile stops when hearing you, and mortification invades you when realizing what you have just said. Fuck, you had spoken without thinking! And with such a cliché sentence Crocodile had surely discovered you right then…

…or maybe not, because when hearing your last according-to-you-unfortunate comment, Crocodile stares directly at you again, his black eyes shining in clear arousal.

“Well, if that’s the case…”, your heart stop completely for a moment when Crocodile reaches down with his right hand and settle it over his belt. Crap. _No,_ “…I will gladly instruct you, Miss White Day”

You feel a cold sweat invading you when hearing the metallic sound of Crocodile’s belt being unfastened.

Shit.

Shit, this was beginning to get out of control and at this rate you would be forced to use Lao-G new technique…

_Knock knock knock_

“Mr. Crocodile, sir, could you please come to the reception? There is someone who wants to talk to you urgently”

When Crocodile hand stops after hearing the voice of Mrs. Merry Christmas at the other side of the door, you are about to thank all the existing gods and goddess of the universe for that interruption. In fact, you can’t help to show a relieved expression that you manage to hide just in time so that Crocodile didn’t see it.

“Tsk, I’m coming”, Crocodile fastens his belt again with an irritated gesture, “wait here, Miss White Day”

You smile charmingly at him when he directs those last words to you, and just when the door closes behind the man Monet speaks again with a relieved voice.

“ _100% at last, (y/n)!_ ”

“ _Young lady, grab that phone right now and get the fuck out of there_ ”

You gulp when hearing Doflamingo snarl those words. It seemed that the next time you saw Doflamingo you were surely going to share a long conversation, and not precisely a romantic calmed one.

After briefly checking that the virus was discreetly destroying the stolen data of Donquixote’s company _and_ also Baroque Works data, you grab the mobile, hide it inside the back pocket of your skirt, put yourself presentable again and approach the door to finally abandon that damn place.

However, you have your hand just in the doorknob when the door snaps opened and you find yourself in front of Crocodile again. Damn, you hadn’t expected that it took the man so little time to attend the call.

You raise your head, thinking furiously in an excuse to abandon that room rapidly, but your words die on your throat when seeing the unnatural imperturbable expression that Crocodile has in his face.

“Leaving so soon, Miss _White Day_?”

You barely have time to notice the emphasis that the man puts in your name, because at that moment Mr. Zero appears from behind Crocodile and immobilizes you completely without any effort. He keeps your arms behind your back with a deathly grip and forces you to kneel on the floor, what stops you from moving completely or from trying to kick the man away.

“W-What?”, even if you are panicking inside you manage to find your voice in time to speak, this time not having to pretend confusion at all, “Mr. Crocodile, what is the meaning of this?”

Crocodile chuckles while looking at you from above, but his dark eyes that had been shining with desire some minutes ago just showing anger.

“Well, what a coincidence. I was just going to ask you the same… Miss _(y/n)_ ”

Your heart stops completely for a moment when hearing Crocodile spell your true name.

 _Fuck_.

 “ _Shit, she has been discovered”,_ you hear Diamante say.

“ _Lao-G, to Baroque Works. NOW_ ”

When hearing Doflamingo’s voice you feel so relieved that you are barely aware that Viola is at the other side of the line trying to reassure you. You don’t even waste time thinking about how the hell Crocodile has discovered you when a moment ago he didn’t know anything: the only thing that mattered was that the mission had been done and the Family was coming for you, Doflamingo was coming for you, so you just had to gain a little of time. Just a little.

“(y/n)?”, you repeat, desperately trying to distract Crocodile as long as possible, “Mr. Crocodile, I don’t know what you’re talking about: I don’t know any (y/n), my name is White Day and-”

Before you can finish your sentence Crocodile has approached you to grab your wig, removing it from your head with a violent movement that makes your neck twist violently to one side.

“Oh? So that’s your true hair”, Crocodile says with a mocking approving tone, “it definitely suits you better than this”

You try to find another excuse but at that moment Crocodile grasp your by the back of your real hair and forces you to raise your head to look at him in a painful angle that causes you to clench your fake teeth not to whine.

“Mmm, as I imagined you look great in your knees like that”

When hearing the innuendo on Crocodile’s comment you manage to shot up a glare at him despite the rather bad situation you were in, causing the man to chuckle this time in amusement.

“Kuhahaha! Such a fierce sexy look”,  Crocodile crouches in the floor and while keeping your head in that painful angle he leans to whisper the next words just in the ear where the earpiece is hidden, “you got yourself a good one, Doflamingo. I’m going to have a lot of _fun_ with her”

You hear Doflamingo curse Crocodile’s name with the most dangerous tone you had ever heard him use just before Mr. Zero hits you in the back of your neck, making you lose your consciousness just after thinking that you definitely weren’t going to like what Crocodile meant by ‘fun’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case it has crossed someone’s mind: NO, Crocodile is not going to rape (y/n). There is no way that I could ever write something as horrible as that, although I can also say that (y/n) is going to struggle quite a lot in the next chapter ^^U
> 
> Also, I know that there has been very little direct interaction between the reader and Doflamingo, but don't worry, I plan to fix that in the next chapter :D


	20. Mission Part III: Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your disguise has been compromised and you discover that Crocodile’s ways of having fun are not funny at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81rEheJfCSL._SY450_.jpg) is how I picture Crocodile while (y/n) is struggling during the chapter.
> 
> **Warning: NSFW**

The next time you open your eyes darkness is completely involving you, and the first thing you notice is that you can’t move freely: you were in your knees, your ankles were restricted with some kind of shackles that were fixed to the floor, and your wrists had been tied tightly over your head with a chain, making absolutely impossible for you to change position.

You gulp loudly and pass your tongue over your dry lips, trying by all means to push away the fear that fought to settle in all your body to make you unable to react. It was stupid to panic. Doing that wouldn’t solve anything. Besides, Doflamingo and the Family were probably looking for you, so maybe you just had to wait for them to find you and-

You shake your head before finishing that thought. No, you couldn’t wait for them to rescue you. You were now a member of the Donquixote Family, and you had insisted on doing this mission, so you had to do all you could to solve the mess you were in, or definitely Doflamingo wasn’t going to let you participate in another mission _ever_.

You take a deep breath to calm down your racing heart and focus on your current not-very-good situation. Even if you thought that it was going to be useless, you pull down with your arms, just in case you were lucky and that chain would miraculously break allowing you to escape from that place without any problems. Obviously, you aren’t lucky: the chain was firmly secured in the ceiling, so you decide to save strength because you had the feeling that you were going to need it.

After accepting that you were not going anywhere any time soon, you try to discover where you were. You blink a couple of times, trying to adjust your eyes to the darkness of the place. After some seconds you manage to deduce that you were in some kind of huge glassed cage, since you could distinguish vaguely your reflection in front of you. Also, you realize that the ground on which you were kneeling wasn’t metallic nor glassed either, but softer, like…sand?

Just when you are wondering why the hell you are in a cage with sand, the whole room suddenly illuminates, causing you to close your eyes tightly when the intense light blinds you almost completely.

“Kuhahaha. Good. You are awake already”

Your eyes open wide again when hearing Crocodile and you immediately follow his voice. It doesn’t take you much to find the man and to verify that you were right about your previous supposition: you were inside a glassed cage and Crocodile was just outside it, sitting comfortably in a leather armchair with his legs crossed and a cruel smile in his features, as if he was waiting to enjoy a show. Some of their men were there too, standing just behind Crocodile. You recognize Mrs. Merry Christmas and Mr. Zero among them. However, you barely look at them because your eyes are fixed on Crocodile’s left arm, since instead of the orthopedic hand that you had seen Crocodile wear during the two weeks you worked for him, now he was wearing a _hook_ , and not just a ‘normal’ hook, but a hook that looked made of _gold_.

Crocodile seems to notice your face of stupor because he looks at his own metallic ‘hand’ before raising it, showing it you.

“Oh, this? Honestly, I would have never thought that you would see me wearing it, Miss (y/n). After all, just my enemies have that privilege. And it’s really a pity that things have turned out this way because…”, Crocodile’s smile widens mockingly, “…I wouldn’t have minded to know you more _intimately_ before coming to this”

You return the smile in the same way.

“Oh, I don’t regret it that much. I think that being in this cage is waaay better than having to stand your horrible cliché compliments”

Crocodile’s expression doesn’t change but you can see the way his right hand turns into a tight fist, indicating that your comment hadn’t pleased him in the least.

“Definitely you and Doflamingo make a good couple.  You are both incredibly annoying”

You bite your tongue not to say Crocodile that what he had just said was the best compliment he had ever made you because you shouldn’t push your luck by making the man too angry. After all, you shouldn’t forget that you had been kidnapped and, for now at least, you were at Crocodile’s mercy, so you better refrain your habit of answering with sarcasm.

“Very well, enough with the chit-char”, Crocodile stands up from the armchair and approaches the glass wall of the cage, “let’s get to the point, Miss (y/n): because of you, not just the data we stole from your dear Doflamingo has vanished, but also some critical information of my company has been destroyed, so…”, Crocodile hisses the next words in a dangerous tone, no trace of his previous smile on his face, “…I want you to fix it”

You gulp. The truth was that it was almost impossible to “fix it”. The virus that Monet had created was extremely potent and thorough, so probably she was the only one who maybe (maybe) could recover the destroyed data, but obviously you couldn’t say that. If Crocodile discovered that there was nothing that you could do, he wouldn’t have any reason to keep you alive. So for now, you had to make him believe that you could do something, and convince him to free you from that cage if you wanted to have a possibility to escape.

“I-It’s not that simple”, you say rapidly after some seconds, when realizing that Crocodile was beginning to lose his patience, “I mean, I guess that I could at least recover the information of your company, but I can’t do it from here-”

“Oh, no, Miss (y/n), there is no way that you abandon your prison so early”, Crocodile snaps his fingers and a curvaceous, slim woman with curly hair approaches the cage as well, “I think you haven’t met Paula before. She is in charge of the Engineering Department and will be the one in following your instructions to fix the mess you’ve caused”

You look at Crocodile and Paula alternatively.

“So you want me to tell her how to fix a virus that has destroyed practically all the data of your company while being like _this_ ”, you emphasize your words moving the chains of your wrists loudly, “okay, and how many years do you want to wait until having it fixed? Because that’s the time is going to take us by following that method”

“It won’t take that much if you explain me how you’ve created the virus”, Paula intervenes with a superior smile, “I have a lot of experience in this topic, so I’m pretty sure I can fix it on my own if you answer me some questi-”

“Sorry to interrupt you but how much I’ve been unconscious?”

Paula blinks confused when hearing your apparently unrelated question. She looks at Crocodile as if asking him permission to answer and when the man nods briefly she speaks.

“Two hours more or less, why?”

“Okay, then may I suppose that during these two hours you have been trying to fix it _on your own_ without success?”, you point yourself a win when Paula tenses, “and you want me to believe that you will be able to recover the information without my help _just_ with some verbal instructions?”, you snort and look at Crocodile, making sure to look super confident of yourself, “this is not going to work. Not this way. If you want to recover the information of your company, you have to let me out”

“Miss (y/n), for second time, you’re not leaving your prison for now”, Crocodile approaches his face to the glass more, fixing his deep black eyes on you, “so you can begin to give Paula instructions. _Now_ ”

You half-close your eyes at the man and raise your chin towards him.

“Mr. Crocodile, how stupid do you think I am? In the remote case Paula could fix everything with my instructions (thing that it is impossible), you would stop needing me, so I’m not saying _anything_ until you free me from here”

Crocodile lets out a deep breath while tensing his jaw, but you don’t avert your eyes from the man. You keep glaring at each other for some tense seconds before a smirk begins to appear in Crocodile’s face again. You frown with suspicion when the man raises his hook with a sharp movement, as if he was giving someone instructions. Wait, was Crocodile going to free you?

“Very well, Miss (y/n), let’s do a deal: if you manage to get free on your own, I will agree with your petition of fixing it yourself”

When Crocodile stops talking, the shackles that were immobilizing your feet and wrists open, allowing you to stand up with difficulty. You feel your legs numb for having been in such position for two hours and your wrists hurt a little for the abrasion caused by the shackles, but hey, at least you could move now.

“Okay”, you say, touching the red marks of your wrists to alleviate a little the discomfort, “so I just have to get out from here?”

A chorus of laughter coming from the members of Baroque Works explodes when you say that. Even Crocodile’s mood seemed to have improved because the man was chuckling, and definitely that couldn’t be good.

“Yes, Miss (y/n), you _just_ have to do that”

At that moment, the metallic sound of a gate being opened invades the room and one of the lateral walls of the cage begins to move from bottom to top, letting you see that the prison where you were confined was way bigger than you have initially thought. As the gate slowly opens, you see that the other side is decorated with several plants and trunks that look incredibly real, and in fact when the gate opens more you realize that there’s an area with water and…

…And then your heart stops, because there was something in the water.

And that ‘something’ was the most enormous, gigantic and _real_ crocodile that you had ever seen. That’s the moment when you realize that all this time you have been locked in a monstrous terrarium that surely was the house of that animal that was pleasantly floating on the water.

“Oh, don’t be shy”, Crocodile says with a cruel smile when seeing you obviously paralyzed, “Bellatrix is really nice: you should introduce yourself to her”

Another metallic sound that this time comes from behind joins the one belonging to the gate (that by then was almost completely opened). You turn around and observe horrified how the opposite wall to the gate is beginning to move against you, making the room where you had been standing become smaller and smaller.

“Shit!”, you almost trip over in your hurry to approach the moving wall, searching desperately for something that would stop its advance but after some moments you realize that it is useless: the wall was inevitably forcing you to step on the room where that beast was, probably to be Bellatrix’s next meal.

“Well, Miss (y/n), the rules of the game are simple”, Crocodile says when the gate has closed completely, leaving you alone with the enormous animal, “you _just_ have to recover the key of the cage and you’re free”

You press your back against the gate and remain as immobile as possible, your eyes not leaving the female crocodile for even one second. At least it seemed that the animal hadn’t noticed your presence yet.

“Can’t you at least tell me where the key is?”, you whisper, throwing Crocodile a side glance. The man had sat in the armchair again and simply laughed.

“Use your imagination, Miss (y/n). Where do you think I have hidden it?”

You gulp. Knowing the bastard Crocodile was the key was surely under water, exactly where the crocodile was. Damn, how the hell were you supposed to recover it without being eaten? Fuck, at this rate your first mission was going to be also your last one and you didn’t want that! Maybe the solution was to swallow your pride and beg for mercy? It was your life what was on the line after all so-

“Miss (y/n), sorry, but this game is not interesting without a little of action”

Crocodile snaps his fingers again and you gasp covering your ears when a rather strident sound almost makes the terrarium shake, effectively causing Bellatrix to grunt in annoyance. The noise just lasts some seconds, but that time was enough to catch Bellatrix’s attention towards you.

Your heart begins to hammer in your chest when seeing the way the animal is staring at you. ‘ _Okay, (y/n), remember Jurassic Park: don’t do any rude movements. Maybe by doing that the crocodile doesn’t see you’_

You remain still, praying all the existing gods and goddess that you were right, and at first it seemed that Bellatrix isn’t seeing you.

However, your hope is crushed when, with a horribly speed, Bellatrix steps out the water and begins to go towards you. The vision of that 4 meters impressive animal rapidly approaching you causes you to be paralyzed for a moment, but fortunately the laughter of Crocodile’s men make you react and you run with all your might towards one of the rocks that were in the area.

The direction that you had taken makes the gigantic beast to make a turn that delays her just enough to allow you to climb the 3 meters rock with an ability that you had just acquired thanks to the fear and your lessons with Lao G. Your hurry for putting yourself safe causes the stockings that you were wearing to end broken in several points, but when you manage to be at the top of the rock you can just feel relief and barely notice the scratches that adorn your legs.

You see the fat crocodile grunting in annoyance, looking at you while moving her muscular tail with impatience. Fortunately, the position of the plants and rocks make impossible for the crocodile to reach you, but the main problem still remained: you had to get that key, and you couldn’t do that as long as Bellatrix had her interest in you. It had been already a miracle that you had managed to escape her in the ground, so it was a complete suicide to try to win the female crocodile in water.

“Impressive, Miss (y/n): not many people had managed to avoid Bellatrix’s first attack. You’re surely something”

You are about to show Crocodile your middle finger when hearing his genuine impressed tone, but you decide to ignore him. You couldn’t allow yourself to waste time reacting to that bastard’s provocations: you had to think about how the hell you were going to distract Bellatrix. What could make the crocodile stop focusing in you?

After some moments of thinking an idea pops in your mind: you didn’t know much about crocodiles, but you did know that some animals, like sharks, always reacted to blood, so maybe it also worked with Bellatrix. After analyzing the pros and contras of that idea, you decide that you didn’t have too many choices in your current situation, so you simply go for it.

The first thing you do is to unbutton your shirt and remove it, ending just in your (c) bra. The action causes some of Crocodile’s men to whistle at you, but you just focused on the next step of your plan and simply ignore them. Thankfully, there were some smaller rocks around the one you were standing, so you take the one that looked sharper than the rest and after taking a deep breath you press the rock’s edge against your left hand. You bite your lip to avoid whining in discomfort when the irregular shape pierces your skin, and the moment blood begins to sprout from the wound you take your shirt and begins to spread your blood on it.

“You know, Miss (y/n), this is the funniest show I’ve ever seen until now. Maybe if you beg for mercy I’ll let you out”

Again, you ignore Crocodile’s fake promise and the laughter of his men and use the same sharp rock  that you have used in your palm to cut the stained sleeve. You also cut the other sleeve and tie it around your palm to cover the fresh wound, making sure to tie it tightly despite the pain it provokes you to prevent it from keeping bleeding. Once you’ve done that, you take the bloody sleeve and after taking a deep breath you slide it in one of the side of the rocks, where Bellatrix is waiting for you to do next move.

The effect when seeing the sleeve is immediate: Bellatrix tries to pounce over it, grunting loudly. Well, it seemed that she indeed reacted to blood, so now you just hoped that the smell was enough to stop her from keeping focusing on you.

You begin to move the sleeve from one side of another, verifying that Bellatrix followed it, and after the third time that the animal had followed the sleeve you decide that it’s time to do the final and most dangerous step.

You take a deep breath, summoning all your courage, and after crumbling the sleeve you throw it at the other side of the room, the most far away than you can. Immediately, Bellatrix begins to run towards the sleeve, so before beginning to have second thoughts you practically jump out the rock to go towards the water, always looking at the crocodile to verify that she was entertained with the sleeve.

After seeing that the animal was indeed destroying the sleeve with way-too-much enthusiasm, you step in the water (that thankfully wasn’t too deep) and begin to look for the key.

You feel yourself about to panic again when some seconds had passed and you hadn’t found anything yet. Maybe you were wrong and the key wasn’t there, or maybe there had never been a key in the first place and Crocodile just wanted to let you die inside that terrarium. But just when you are feeling tears of despair forming in your eyes you see it: a golden glow coming from the bottom of the pound. You dive in the water without thinking towards the glow and you feel about to shout in relief when recognizing a small golden key. You grab it rapidly, surface again and step outside the pound with your heart hammering in your chest.

By then Bellatrix had got tired already of the sleeve, and the moment she sees you emerging from the water she grunts loudly and begins to go towards you. You don’t have even time to think if it was safer to return to the rock instead of running towards the gate: by that time you just want to get out of there once and for all, so while cursing non-stop you begin to run with all your might towards the exit. The damn sand that was covering the floor makes running more difficult and you are about to trip a couple of times, but you manage to reach the gate. You hear Bellatrix breathing besides you while you enter the key with trembling hands, and just when you practically are feeling the animal’s mouth opening next to your legs the gate opens and you stomp out of it, falling into the floor facing down.

You turn around rapidly, fearing that Bellatrix had abandoned the cage with you, but to your surprise the animal was just grunting from inside the gate with a grumpy expression, not moving at all.

It’s at that moment when you realize that the room where you are is a study, and considering the expensive furniture that was adorning it maybe you were in a manor. Wait, did that mean that Crocodile had brought you his private home? No, that couldn’t be, or Doflamingo and the Family would have found you already for sure…

You are so busy trying to deduce where you are that you barely notice that the members of Baroque Works are applauding you for your performance. However, you do notice when they stop doing so when Crocodile stands up from the armchair to walk towards your direction.

“It seems that I have underestimated your abilities, Miss (y/n)”, Crocodile approaches Bellatrix briefly and rubs her sharp head, causing the animal to stop grunting and move towards Crocodile’s hand, as if enjoying the ministrations, “I think you are the only one who has managed to escape from Bellatrix’s cage. Certainly, Doflamingo knows how to choose his women”

Crocodile turns towards you and offers you a hand to stand up, but you ignore it and stand up on your own. Your look right now couldn’t be odder: you were half-naked, with your stockings broken and completely drenched, but despite all that your stance was proud, dignified and defiant, and you could see a shadow of admiration pass through Crocodile’s eyes before he recovers his previous serious expression.

“Paula, give Miss (y/n) something to wear. It would be a pity that she ended ill and unable to do her work”

Paula handles you a jacket that was a little bigger for you, but that was better than walking around just in your bra.

Okay, now you were free as you wanted so now you had to escape from there, and you knew exactly how you were going to try to do that,

“Before that, can I ask you something?”, you don’t wait for Crocodile to agree and keep talking, “I need to go to the restroom”

Crocodile chuckles with amusement when hearing your petition.

“Sure. Paula, can you please accompany her? And don’t take your eyes off her”

Paula nods and extracts a small pistol from the pocket of her tight trousers to point at you with it. She is about to grab your arm to lead you there but you stop her.

“Wait, I need to recover my bag before going”

Crocodile raises an eyebrow with suspicion.

“Miss (y/n), if you are thinking about escaping I suggest you to discard that ide-”

“I need the tampons that are inside”

Your rude answer causes Crocodile to shut up at once, and in fact a faint blush adorns his cheeks before clicking his tongue. Wow, for being a womanizer the man surely got embarrassed quickly.

“Paula, give Miss (y/n) her…em… _things_. Verify first that there’s nothing suspicious though”

Paula nods with an imperturbable expression and finally leads you outside the room. Your suspicions about being in a manor disappear when you step outside the study, because the corridor that lead to the restrooms was more similar to the one you would find in some kind of storehouse, so probably you had been brought to one of Crocodile’s secret factories (you knew that Doflamingo had some of them too even if you had never been there) and therefore finding you was going to be more complicated.

Just a minute later you are in the restroom with Paula. The woman examines the tampons for some moments but eventually she gives one to you and waits outside while you get inside one of the stalls.

The moment you enter it you put the bolt and open one of the tampons. While Paula examined it you hadn’t been nervous at all because it was impossible that she found anything weird in them. After all, they were just normal tampons with just a light difference: the cotton which they were made off was a special material that Gladius had designed. A material that, when mixed with another component, made the tampons become a rather potent explosive, and of course you were also wearing that other component.

While making sure to do noise with the tampon’s package to pretend that you were using it, you extract the fake teeth from your mouth (anyone had realized that you had been wearing them) and from one of the front teeth you extract a small plastic piece. You introduce then the piece into the fake cotton of the tampon, making sure to cover it well, and when you finish you examine the small bomb that you had just created. According to Gladius, it would take the plastic five minutes to dissolve inside the fake cotton, and when that happened the liquid that the plastic piece carried inside (and that was completely inoffensive as long as it did not mix with the fake cotton) would spread, creating a chemic reaction that would make the tampon explode with a force similar to a grenade.

You take a deep breath, put your fake teeth again and after using the bathroom for real to keep appearances you step outside the stall wearing the tampon in the pocket of your skirt.

“It has taken you a while”, Paula says with suspicion the moment you exist the stall.

You look at her with a ‘really?’ expression and settle your hands on your skirt.

“Well, if you want to verify if I’m wearing it-”

You see Paula blush deeply when you make the gesture of lowering you skirt.

“Tsk, you have no shame or what?”

You suppress a smile when Paula grabs your arm and forces you out of the bathroom, keeping her pistol pointed at one of your sides. Definitely, Monet and Viola had been right when suggesting Gladius to design the tampon as a bomb.

Paula walks you back to the room and when you enter Crocodile has a computer waiting for you.

“Well, Miss (y/n), time to work”, Crocodile signals with his hook a chair that was just in front of the computer, “and you better not try anything funny because Paula will be observing all your actions”

After nodding you sit down in the chair Crocodile has indicated you. You feel the mini-bomb rapidly vibrate three times inside your pocket, indicating that three minutes remained until  it exploded. Well, time to play.

“I would need the mobile I used to upload the virus”, you say looking at Crocodile, lying with all the conviction you can, “with it I can change the program so that it recovers the data that had been removed”

“And how exactly are you going to do that?”, Paula asks, not convinced at all for your words.

“Well, if you give me the mobile I can explain it to you”, you insist, passing to look at Paula instead, “you can use the mobile yourself if you don’t trust me”

Paula half-close her eyes but after hesitating she nods at Crocodile, who snaps his fingers causing one of his men to bring the mobile to Paula.

“Very well, what do I have to do?”

You suppress the urge to gulp. The mini-bomb vibrates two times in your pocket. You better calculate the timing of your next actions. Definitely, dying because your own bomb had exploded in your pocket couldn’t be more ridiculous.

“Turn it on and connect it to the computer”

“Miss (y/n), I remind you again that if you try to do something…”, Crocodile settles his hand over your shoulder from  behind while using his hook to caress your cheek, the cold feeling causing a shiver travel down your spine, “…that pretty face of yours will go to waste”

You gulp and nod. One vibration. One minute until the bomb exploded, so you begin to count mentally. You hoped to know what you were doing.

“Alright, it’s connected”, Paula says, “and now?”

You feel your heart become crazy in your chest again. 30 seconds. Damn, you _really_ hoped to know what you were doing.

“Simply enter the ‘recover’ folder and press accept”

And Paula does so.

And then everyone but you jumps in their seats when Monet’s laughter fills the room.

‘ _I’m sorry, dear. The virus has been updated and there’s no way to recover it~_ ’

“What the hell is tha-”

But Crocodile doesn’t finish his sentence because while making the most of the general confusion that reigned in the room you rapidly stand up from your chair, extracts the mini-bomb from your pocket and threw it at the other side of the room. It seemed that your calculations had been correct enough because the mini-bomb had barely touched the floor when it exploded with a loud noise, causing some of the men that were around to go flying around the room at the same time that a cloud of smoke covers the room almost completely.

After the bomb exploded, you immediately try to abandon the room the fastest you can, but this time it has been you the one in underestimating Crocodile because with a growl the man manages to grab your arm. You try to get free from his grip but Crocodile manages to pin you against his desk forcibly, pressing his hook against your throat.

You grab his golden hooks with both arms, trying to push him away from you but it was useless: Crocodile was stronger than you, so it was impossible for you to win him at such a close range.

“You can struggle as much as you want, Miss (y/n), but it’s too late now”, Crocodile approaches his face to yours to snarl the next words, “You have wasted all the chances I have offered you, so let me tell you a little secret: your dear Doflamingo won’t be in time to rescue you”

Crocodile presses your hook against your neck, causing you to have difficulties to breath in a matter of seconds, but you force yourself to remain conscious. You couldn’t faint now if you wanted to come out alive from this.

“You’re right”, you manage to say with a ragged voice, “I’ve wasted all your chances. But at least can I say something before you kill me?”

Crocodile snorts, but he eventually reduces the pressure over your neck a little to allow you to speak.

“Very well, Miss (y/n). Your last words?”

You carefully move your right leg so that it is just between Crocodile’s legs. You incorporate a little over the desk and approach your mouth to Crocodile’s ear

“I _don’t_ need to be rescued”

Just after finishing talking, you raise your right leg as fast as you can while shouting ‘ _Malfunctionin-G Crotch!_ ’. Your knee connects hardly against Crocodile’s lower half, and after getting pale than a ghost Crocodile falls into the floor bending in two. Paula makes the mistake of looking at her boss with concern instead of keeping pointing at you, so you take the chance and pounce over her with all your force. Your attack takes her completely by surprise and thanks to one of the techniques that Gladius taught you, you manage to steal the pistol from her.

“Move and I shoot your boss”, you say loudly, pointing at Crocodile with the gun.

The members of Baroque Works that kept standing immediately remain still, but when hearing your warning Crocodile begins to laugh from the floor, even if a pained grimace still showed in his face.

“Cut it out, Miss (y/n)”, Crocodile snapped, “I can easily tell that you aren’t able to kill a person”

You snort while unlocking the safety-catch from the gun.

“You want to try me?”, you threat, but Crocodile was right. You could feel your hands trembling while sustaining the gun just when thinking about pulling the trigger.

Crocodile must have noticed too because his smirk widens.

“Paula, recover your gun. There is no risk that Miss (y/n) dares to shoo-”

_BANG_

The next thing you see after hearing that strident gunshot is Crocodile collapsing backwards with a piercing growl, grabbing his wounded shoulder with his right hand.

And then, a familiar laughter begins to sound over the exclamations of stupor.

“Fu fu fu~. It’s a pity then that _I_ dare to shoot on her behalf”

For a moment you think that you were imagining things, but when you look towards the door you realize that you aren’t dreaming: Doflamingo is standing there, looking even taller than usual while wearing that pink-feathery coat and his flamboyant sunglasses with his usual style, and while sustaining a black and gold pistol on his hand. The pistol that had just caused Crocodile to end squirming in pain in the floor.

You are still assimilating that Doflamingo had just appeared when suddenly the walls of the whole study explode at once and the rest of the Donquixote Family appears, all of them wearing different weapons and the scariest faces that you had ever seen them show. Even Baby 5 looked extremely frightening wearing that bazooka, which was surely one of the weapons that had destroyed the walls, and you could barely hide your stupor when Senor Pink approached Mister Zero and made him fall into the floor with just a well given kick.

While the Family reduces the men of Baroque Works with impeccable efficiency, Doflamingo begins to approach you without stopping pointing at Crocodile, walking across the room with security as if he owned the whole place.

He stops just next to you and with his free hands he softly makes you lower the gun that you still had grabbed with force.

“I got this, young lady”, Doflamingo says with a tone that clearly contrasted with the dark aura that was surrendering him, “the mission is over now”

You gulp loudly, feeling a lump forming in your throat, and before you can do something incredibly stupid such as beginning to cry in front of everyone you let the gun fall into the floor and throw your arms around Doflamingo’s neck to hug him tightly, letting go all the tension and fear that you had been holding in until then. Doflamingo encloses his free arm around your trembling body, returning the embrace.

“Did he hurt you?”, Doflamingo hisses in a low tone so that you just could hear him, and you shake your head against his strong neck.

“No, I’m fine”, you answer after sobbing, “I had everything under control. In fact, you didn’t need to come at all”

Doflamingo snorts when hearing your ironic comment and after kissing your forehead he removes the jacket that you were wearing to cover you in his feathery coat instead.

“Baby 5, accompany (y/n) to the limousine. There are a couple of things that I have to tell my friend Crocodile before leaving”

For a brief second, you feel pity for Crocodile when Doflamingo crouches next to the fallen man with a terrifying smirk, but then you remember your time inside the terrarium and how Crocodile had been about to choke you, so the only thing you do is to ( _finally_ ) remove your fake teeth, throw them away and look at the man from above with a cold look.

“Goodbye, Mr. Crocodile. I guess that it’s not necessary to present a resignation letter”

Even if you really hated the man, you can’t help to admire his stubbornness when Crocodile laughs weakly.

“Such a pity, Miss (y/n). I wouldn’t have minded to have fun with you a little mor- _ARGH_!!”

You can’t help to feel pain when Doflamingo presses the barrel of the gun just on the wound that Crocodile had received in the shoulder, causing more blood to spread from it.

“Tsk, tsk, my dear Crocodile, a gentleman shouldn’t flirt with other men’s girlfriends. And specially…”, Doflamingo leans over Crocodile until their faces are inches apart, “if it’s my girlfriend whom we are talking about. So watch your tongue if you don’t want me to shoot at something else. For example…”, Doflamingo points at the terrarium where the female Crocodile was, “…at your dear pet”

You had been about to let Baby 5 guide you outside but you stop when hearing Doflamingo, and you couldn’t help to feel pity once again when seeing Crocodile looking really frightened after hearing Doflamingo’s threat.

“Doffy”, when hearing you calling his name softly Doflamingo looks at you with curiosity, “um…please, don’t hurt Bellatrix”

Doflamingo raises an eyebrow while Crocodile looks at you with disbelief.

“Bellatrix?”

“The crocodile”, you explain, “she isn’t at fault for having this jerk as her owner so, please, let her be”

Doflamingo looks towards Bellatrix, that now was trembling a little after he pointed at her with an evident murderous intent, and after some second Doflamingo points at Crocodile again instead.

“As you wish, young lady”

You smile at Doflamingo and look at Crocodile briefly again, who lets out the breathing he had been holding before nodding at you almost imperceptibly, probably as a thank you. You don’t say anything in return and finally lets Baby 5 enclose and arm around your shoulders to lead you outside the place.

The walk towards the limousine is filled with Crocodile’s pained growls, and when Doflamingo joins you in the back seat some minutes later you realize that the man’s white shirt is covered in blood that obviously isn’t his, but you find yourself not caring at all. You simply lean over Doflamingo’s body and let him enclose an arm around you while Lao G finally carries you and the entire Family home.

* * *

You had feared that Doflamingo scolded you during the trip because of the disastrous ending of the mission, but to your surprise everyone begins to congratulate you the moment Lao G starts the car. In fact, Gladius looked really impressed when knowing that you had used the bomb that he designed, and Lao G was very satisfied after learning that his last technique had proved to be rather effective. 

During the trip, you also learnt who had sold you out: a young police officer.

“What?”, you say confused, “but who was that officer? And how did he know that I was…well, _me_ ”

“Apparently, Inspector Smoker was talking to one of his subordinates about what had happened with Crocodile”, Viola explains, “and he didn’t realize that a stupid newbie officer that was dying to ascend quickly was eavesdropping to his conversation. That newbie (I think his name was Helmeppo or something) talked to the chief of the Police Department about the matter. This one thought that maybe after discovering your disguise, Crocodile would be willing to make a deal with him to share some of his information with the Police, since the last one had been after some of his clients for quite a while”

“Wow, the chief of the Police looks like a really legal guy”, you say with sarcasm after Viola speaks, causing the woman to snort.

“Yes, the badge that he wears is the only thing that prevents chief Sakazuki from being called a criminal”

“Okay, so then that Helmeppo was the one who sold me but how did you discover all this?”, you ask with curiosity, “and how did you manage to find me?”

You are surprised when Viola chuckles and Doflamingo clicks his tongue.

“Tell her, Doffy”, Viola says with a teasing tone, “how did we find her?”

Doflamingo exhales a sigh before answering with annoyance

“Thanks to Smoker”

“What?!”, you exclaim, looking at Doflamingo and Viola alternatively, “but…what?!”

“Yes, the moment Smoker learnt about Sakazuki’s plan he seemed to think that you were going to be in danger, so he called _me_ ”, Viola says with a smile, “basically, he told me that he knew that I still worked for Doffy even if he couldn’t prove it, that he knew that you were involved in some kind of mission, and that Crocodile was going to discover who you were. Then he listed me the location of some warehouses that he had been investigating secretly with his men while investigating Crocodile, because he thought that that would be the place where Crocodile would bring you”

You blink several times, completely astonished. Damn, inspector Smoker was surely something. Definitely, you couldn’t help to like the man a little. Although in a purely innocent way, obviously.

“W-Wow”, you exhale at the end, “I will have to thank him then”

“It won’t be necessary: I’ve already done so, so you do not need to talk to the Inspector _again_ ”

You look at Doflamingo with confusion when hearing his cutting tone while Viola burst out laughing.

“I think someone is jealous”

“ _Viola_ …”

“Come on, Doffy: Smoker is just a good man, the fact that he had wanted to help (y/n) doesn’t mean that he is in love with her”

“You all did say the same about Crocodile and that bastard fell for her anyway”

“That’s not true: he fell for Miss White Day, not for (y/n)”

“ _VIOLA_ …”

“Yes, Doffy?”

Fortunately for Doflamingo (since he was the one who was losing the conversation against Viola) you arrive to the manor just a couple of minutes later. You are surprised when seeing that Law, Corazon, Rebecca, Cavendish and Bartolomeo are waiting for you there: Law to make his job as a doctor you and the others because they had been deadly worried for you.

After convincing everyone that you were really okay, Law examined you. He examined your light scratches, treated the wound in your hand and instructed you to wear a bandage during the next week. He also told you to go to visit week in a couple of days to see it how it evolved.

You thanked the man with a smile, accepted everyone’s effusive hugs of happiness once again and the next thing you did was to let Doflamingo accompany you to his bedroom. You have the vague memory of Doflamingo telling you something about resting and the next time you open your eyes, you see Doflamingo sitting next to you in his king-sized bed, wearing a robe and reading a book calmly.

“Fufufu~, you’re finally awake”, Doflamingo chuckles when seeing your still sleepy face, “you’ve been sleeping for an entire day”

“What?! A day?!”, you exclaim, looking at the hour to see that it was 6 p.m. already.

“Yes, 24 hours exactly”, Doflamingo repeats with amusement, “Jora has begun to prepare dinner right now. I think she will call us in an hour and half or so”

You nod before incorporating into a sitting position and look at Doflamingo hesitantly.

“Um…can I borrow your shower before going to have dinner?”

Doflamingo looks at you with such a serious expression that you feel your heart skip a beat for a moment.

“(y/n), I don’t know how many times to tell you this is also your home too: you can borrow whatever you want so stop asking such idiotic questions”

You chuckle when hearing Doflamingo’s annoyed tone and kiss him briefly conciliatory.

“Okay, I won’t ask idiotic questions again”, you repeat playfully before entering the shower.

You spend more time than necessary in the shower, simply enjoying the warm water on your body. When you step out you feel extremely refreshed and active, although that was pretty normal after having been sleeping for a damn day.

Moments later you return to Doflamingo’s bedroom with a towel around your body, and frown a little confused when seeing that Doflamingo isn’t in the bed.

However, you are just going to call for him when suddenly you feel a couple of strong arms close around you from behind and a familiar mouth landing on the side of your neck. You gasp softly in surprise when Doflamingo teases the sensitive flesh, sucking at it to leave his mark before traveling up until reaching your ear.

“Sorry, (y/n): I haven’t told you before but probably the dinner will have to _wait_ ”

You tremble in excitation when perceiving the lust that Doflamingo’s voice carried. Fuck, of course the dinner was going to wait: after the last intense day the only thing you wanted was to let Doflamingo mess you up however the hell he wanted.

After Doflamingo’s tongue elicits another moan out your mouth you turn your head to try to kiss him. However, Doflamingo seemed to have other plans because without warning he grabs your princess style to carry you towards his impressive bed and throws you into it almost unceremoniously.

Doflamingo removes then the robe he was wearing with a fluent movement, ending in all his naked glory. You bite your bottom lip with excitation, drinking from his sculpted figure, but you don’t have much time to appreciate your boyfriend’s sinful body because at that moment Doflamingo crawls over you, rips your towel off to expose your body and dives down with a growl to suck at one of your breasts viciously.

You moan in surprise when Doflamingo tongues and nibbles your nipple with hunger, using his hand to give the unattended breast the same treatment. You settle your hands over Doflamingo’s powerful shoulder blades and your fingers almost dig in his skin every time that he uses his teeth to tease your sensitive soft flesh. However, you aren’t able to enjoy how nice his taut muscles feel under your hands because at that moment Doflamingo begins to travel down your body.

The only warning you obtain about what is going to happen next is Doflamingo placing your legs over his shoulders with no effort before going down on you.

This time you literally cry in ecstasy, body arching off the bed when Doflamingo’s long, awesome tongue presses against your womanhood, proving expertly between your folds until reaching your clit. Your legs begin to tremble violently over Doflamingo and your toes curl with every precise lick that the man gives to that little sensitive bud.

Doflamingo pleasures you with his mouth until you are a panting mess. He grunts with the way your hips begin to rock against him, riding his mouth as if they were unconsciously asking for more without the need of words. Doflamingo adds his fingers to the assault then, pumping and stretching them in and out you steadily, each one of this thrusts causing you to become wetter and more impatient for more.

“D-Doffy”, you almost beg, unable to wait anymore after a third digit joins the other two, “Doffy, _please_ …”

When hearing your plea Doflamingo slowly withdraws his tongue and fingers from you and incorporates until being in a kneeling position just over you. He grabs your arms and drags you up with him until you are sitting with your legs between his parted ones, your face just in front of his crotch. You shiver when seeing how erect his member has become just for giving you oral, as if he had enjoyed it as much as you had.

“Lick”, Doflamingo says with a thick voice, grabbing his member and offering it to you. You normally didn’t like to be ordered around but this time Doflamingo’s commanding tone turns you even more aroused.

Without wasting more time you secure your hands over Doflamingo’s perfect V shape and begin to lick hungrily around his shaft, making sure to coat it well with your saliva. Doflamingo settles one hand over your head, and although he doesn’t thrust into your mouth his grip is firm, guiding you towards the places of his member on which he desires to feel your oral attentions.

You look up while keeping lapping at Doflamingo’s member, shivering every time that Doflamingo hisses lowly in pleasure when your tongue finds a particularly good spot. You eventually get tired of just licking and decide to carefully welcome Doflamingo’s member in your mouth. Doflamingo grunts approvingly and intensifies the grip in your head when you increase a little the speed, swallowing his member the best you could and using your hands to pump the flesh that couldn’t fit in your mouth.

The next time a grunt escapes from Doflamingo’s lightly parted lips you raise your gaze, not wanting to miss his aroused expression, and it seems that locking eyes with Doflamingo while doing such an erotic act stirs something inside him because with another grunt he pulls your head back, making you release his member. You have barely recovered some air before Doflamingo is on you, kissing you violently.

“Your palm and knees”, Doflamingo snarls against your mouth, “do they hurt much?”

You shake your head negatively and Dolfmaingo smirks.

“Then turn around”

The want that drip from Doflamingo’s voice when spelling those words makes you weak in the knees, and again, you don’t complain one bit when being commanded like that, because tonight it seemed that Doflamingo just wanted to fuck you into oblivion against that bed and you were just in the mood for it, so you get on fours rapidly with your legs trembling because of the anticipation.

You miss the way Doflamingo licks his lips with lust when seeing you in such a provocative posture. Doflamingo takes his time groping your buttocks viciously once, twice, before securing his big hands on your hips.

“Ready?”

You nod shakily and can’t help to gasp when Doflamingo begins to bury inside you, slowly but without pause, causing you to lose the air of your lungs when his hot, thick girth stretches you impossibly wide, the pain that you were feeling being almost completely erased by the pleasure of feeling so full.

Doflamingo begins with shallow thrusts, allowing you to get used to him, but the moment he notices that you meet his movements he immediately changes to a punishing pace, beginning to pound fiercely inside you. He groans almost every time his pelvis slaps against your ass, the slicking sound of his member entering your loosened entrance over and over again fueling your own arousal.

You try to keep your arms extended against the mattress, but Doflamingo’s aggressive rhythm makes them tremble so much that you decide to lean your upper front against the bed. The new position causes your already sensitive breasts to rub against the silky mattress back and forth, back and forth, making your nipples get hard once again because of the satisfying friction.

After some moments Doflamingo towers over you so that his hulking body is almost flushed against yours. You shiver powerfully when Doflamingo’s long tongue licks from your middle back until reaching the back of your neck, your hands clutching the mattress when he bites the juncture between your shoulder and neck with possessiveness.

Tears of uncontrollable pleasure appear on the corner of your eyes when Doflamingo reaches around with one hand and begins to play with your clit without slowing down the pace of his merciless fucking. You manage to incorporate again, digging your palms over the mattress. You turn your head in an almost painful angle and open your mouth invitingly, silently asking Doflamingo to kiss you. The man immediately complies. Your tongues meet outside your mouths and your bottom lip ends a little sore when Doflamingo grabs it to nip at it, probably leaving a bruise.

“D-Doffy”, Doflamingo’s tongue traces your jaw until reaching you ear and the knot in your stomach becomes tighter when hearing Doflamingo’s ragged groans so close, lightly muffled for the erotic sound of skin meeting skin.

“More, young lady”, Doflamingo orders, the hand that was still on your hip hooking on one of your breasts to pinch your already abused nipple, that action causing you to clench around his hot member with a whine, “call my name _more_ ”

“D-Doffy… _ahn~…Doffy_ ”, you say his name like a prayer, throwing your head against Doflamingo’s shoulder while bucking your hips back with urgency now that you felt close,  “o-oh _god_ …oh god Doffy I’m going to-”

“Come”, Doflamingo purrs against your ear, increasing even more the rhythm in a way that causes the bed to bang against the wall, “come for me, _(y/n)_ ”

There is no way that you can hold back any longer when hearing him call you with such a wanton tone. With Doflamingo’s name in your lips you give in and let your climax wash over you. Doflamingo’s hands return to your hips, his grip being the only thing that stops you from falling boneless in the bed. You use your last forces to settle one of your hands over Doflamingo’s one and interlace your fingers together while the man keeps riding the last threads of his orgasm until he finally reaches completion, hissing your name in a raw satiated groan that makes the hair of the back of your head stand at once.

You pant against the mattress labouredly, feeling Doflamingo’s hips jerk against you while emptying the last drops of his release inside you. You hear Doflamingo let out a deep, contented breath before getting out from you to join you on the bed. You curl against his body and place a hand over his tanned and slightly sweated pectorals, surprised when feeling his heartbeat just lightly accelerated.

“Seriously, your stamina will never stop impressing me”

Doflamingo chuckles when hearing you ramazed tone and enclose an arm around your shoulders, pressing you against him even more.

“I’m glad that I haven’t lost my touch after two weeks of abstinence because of that damn bastard”

You gulp when Doflamingo sounds obviously annoyed.

“Are you angry?”, you ask after a light moment of hesitation.

Doflamingo just sighs before raising your chin to kiss you in that way that always makes your body tremble.

“Just with myself for not having found you before, not with you. And I have to admit that you did well. Really well”, he reluctantly says, “you had everything under control by when we found you”

You were about to smile proudly but then you remembered something that caused you to avert your eyes instead.

“Yes, but I couldn’t shoot at him”, you gulped, “so maybe I’m not that suited to be part of the Family as I thou-”

Doflamingo interrupts you with another hard kiss that removes the air of your lungs.

“You did well”, he repeats with a tone that didn’t leave space to doubts, “it was your first mission and you managed to carry it out almost until the end without help. And regarding not being able to shoot at someone don’t worry: there will be more chances”

You can’t help to laugh when Doflamingo says such a thing with a super casual tone. You grab Doflamingo’s face to kiss him deeply, causing the man to grunt with satisfaction, and at that moment you finally remember something that you definitely had to tell Doflamingo.

“By the way…I accept your offer”, Doflamingo looks at you momentarily confused, so you decide to be more precise, “I’m moving with you”

After you say those last words, a silence falls between you two until the telephone of Doflamingo’s nightstand sounds and breaks it effectively.

Doflamingo picks up the phone, still looking at you with an unreadable expression that makes you incredibly nervous. Shit, maybe he had changed his mind and at the end he didn’t want you to move with him? God, if that was the case you were going to die from embarrassement!

“ _Dinner is almost ready, Young Master_ ”, you hear Jora say at the phone, “ _will you an (y/n) come now or should I wait a little before calling the rest?_ ”

You are about to answer for Doflamingo that yes, you were going  right now just to break the damn tension that had settled between you two.

But then Doflamingo talks, and his lustful tone  causes you to relax again while suffer a new shiver.

“You can call the rest, Jora. (y/n) and I won’t go down in a while”

You have barely heard Jora say a completely natural ‘ _Of course, Young Master_ ’ before Doflamingo is over you once again, pining you over the mattress with his big, powerful frame to kiss you senseless.

“Does this mean that you like my decision?”, you breath when Doflamingo lets your mouth go.

Doflamingo smirks widely and begins to open your thighs slowly so that he could accommodate better between your parted legs, the action causing your heart to miss a beat.

“Oh, I _do_ , young lady”, Doflamingo hooks your legs around his waist before purring the next sentence against your lips, “and I’m going to prove it to you all night long”

You moan against Doflamingo’s wide smirk when his thick member, fully hard again, begins to sink inside you oh-so-slowly, and when Doflamingo begins to pound inside your tight heat once again, causing you shout in ecstasy while crawling at his powerful frame with both hands, you manage to think that, definitely, it had been a _great_ idea to wait until now to tell him the good news. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally this mini-arc is finished :P Hope you have liked it ^^ I hope you spend good days and Merry Christmas to all of you! <3 ^^
> 
>  **Spoiler of the next chapter** : (y/n) spends Christmas with Family and friends. A light chapter after making poor reader suffer with Crocodile xD


	21. Christmas with the Donquixote Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You begin living with Doflamingo and spend some more-or-less peaceful Christmas days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/29368/1-1/womens-medieval-enchantress-costume.jpg) is how imagine the adapted Caspar costume that Dellinger wears :P

The alarm clock of Doflamingo’s nightstand begins to sound, waking you up immediately. You remain with your eyes closed though, waiting for Doflamingo to turn it off, but when some seconds pass and you still can hear Doflamingo’s calm breathing against your neck you deduce that the man is still deep asleep. You sigh softly and incorporate on the bed in order to reach the alarm clock, leaning your body over Doflamingo’s sleeping form to reach the noisy device and stop it.

The lack of sound causes Doflamingo to mumble something unintelligible, which causes you to smile before leaning down to deposit a soft kiss on his temple.

“Time to wake up, Doffy”

When Doflamingo doesn’t even react you leave the bed to stand on the floor. You approach the big window and open the curtains just a little. Immediately some rays of lights bath the room, finally causing a reaction out of Dolflamingo consisting of a grumpy grunt.

You gulp while looking how Doflamingo stretches over the bed and think for thousandth time that it was a luck that your boyfriend always decided to sleep half-naked, because the vision of Doflamingo flexing his ripped muscles in that way was sexy as hell and helped you to begin the day in a really good mood, and also a little aroused.

“Doffy, you’re going to be late if you keep slacking off”, you warn cautiously, approaching the bed again to crawl over Doflamingo, “let me guess: did you go to sleep too late last night?”

Doflamingo exhales a deep sigh and nods, reaching up with a hand to caress the back of your hair.

“Not too late: it was just around 2 p.m. or so”

You don’t think that your expression when hearing his answer is particularly hilarious, but it must be for the way Doflamingo chuckles.

“Fu fu fu~. Young lady, I told you last night that I was going to be busy”

“Doffy, _that_ is not to be busy: it’s to be exploited!”

“That’s a little complicated since I am the boss of the company”

“Then you’re just an idiot that is exploiting himself”

Doflamingo chuckles again and forces your face down to kiss you languidly, causing you to moan appreciatively despite you were a little angry with him.

“You are so cute when getting all flushed like that”

You snort and roll your eyes before kissing him back briefly.

“Okay then: since you have barely slept you better not leave this bed in two hours at least. I have to go to the shop today, but I think I’ll be able to go to the company to have lunch with y- _iah_!”

You squeak when suddenly Doflamingo makes you fall into the mattress again, pressing your back against his front and enclosing his arms around you to stop you from leaving.

“H-Hey…!”, you turn your head to see Doflamingo smirking at you, “weren’t you sleepy just now?”

“Oh, and I was, but seeing you over me in that sexy pajama has woken me up completely”

You exhale an incredulous laugh because definitely the pajama that you are wearing isn’t sexy at all. However, that doesn’t stop Doflamingo from slipping a hand under it to begin to trace your skin directly, causing familiar goose-bumps to settle in your stomach.

“Doffy”, you warn more weakly that you’d like, biting your bottom lip not to moan when Doflamingo nips at the side of your neck while one of his hands keeps ascending under your pajama, “Doffy, stop: maybe you can be late but I have to go early to Corazon’s shop and-”

Your sentence finishes in a whine when Doflamingo languidly begins to rub your right nipple between his fingers, and when his other hand also sneaks under your pajama pants you find yourself opening your legs automatically, the action causing Doflamingo to smirk against your sensitive neck.

“Are you sure you have to be in the shop _that_ early, (y/n)?”

You would have glared at Doflamingo when hearing his mischievous tone if the man hadn’t decided right then to press his fingers against your folds to circle his thumb over your clit teasingly, at the same time that he massages your right breast fully, causing you to moan wantonly while arching against his body.

“Damn you”, you exhale a curse half-heartedly, turning your head to swallow Doflamingo’s characteristic laughter with your mouth. It seemed that, once again, you were going to make the Family wait for breakfast. But, being completely sincere with yourself, you weren’t feeling as guilty about it as you probably should when your clothes end nowhere to be found and Doflamingo’s warmth pleasantly envelop your from head to toe.

* * *

“Well, well, look who has decided to join us finally”

Even if Corazon’s reproachful tone was obviously fake, you can’t help to look at him apologetically for being _almost a whole hour_ late.

“I’m so sorry”, you hang hurriedly your coat and scarf up the coat-rack of the entrance and approach the shop counter, where Corazon, Bartolomeo and Cavendish were organizing some orders already, “I have no excuse: I kind of overslept and by when I woke up it was extremely late”

You gulp when Corazon raises an eyebrow skeptically.

“Overslept you say?”, he repeats ironically, “and Doffy hasn’t waken you up? What a bad boyfriend he is”

“You know, Cora-senpai, I think that your scary brother has been at fault because I think that the hickey that (y/n) has in her neck is new”

You blush intensely and try to hit at Bartolomeo but after two years of friendship the punk is able to read your reaction and avoids it effortlessly, sticking his tongue at you mockingly while you click your tongue.

“Tsk, I should have worn a turtle-neck sweater”

“I know how you feel”, Cavendish says while looking at Bartolomeo reproachfully, “you’re not the only one going out with someone with an annoying obsession for leaving marks”

Bartolomeo snorts.

“Yeah yeah, protest all you want now but last night you didn’t seem _so_ against it when asking me to lick you whole and-”

“Bartolomeo, I swear to God that if you _DARE_ to say another word…”

Even if Cavendish had defended you before, you can’t help to laugh when hearing the blond man talking in such a menacing way. Even Corazon, who normally preferred to stay out of Bartolomeo and Cavendish’s love quarrels, also chuckles with amusement.

When you eventually manage to make Bartolomeo and Cavendish finish arguing, you proceed to help Corazon organize the last costume orders that had just arrived, and since the process is rather mechanic your mind begins to wander off to how the moving with Doflamingo took place, since a part of you still found incredible that you were already living with him.

The day after Doflamingo _thoroughly_ demonstrated you how much he liked your decision you decided to come back to your apartment that same morning to begin with the moving immediately. However, your hopes of having everything done that same weekend were crushed when you entered your apartment and Vivi called you to tell you that you had to take extra classes for having missed almost two full weeks, which forced you to prepare the next classes right away instead of beginning to pack your belongings as you had wanted.

At any other moment Doflamingo and the Family would have offered you to take care of the moving themselves, but right now they couldn’t be busier because, inevitably, rumors about what had happened in Baroque Works had spread among the clients of the company and the Family had been forced to deal with a nice bunch of Crocodile’s former clients that had somehow discovered that their information could have been leaked, and who wanted to hire the services that the Donquixote Company offered instead.

Therefore, after spending an infernal week of having classes in the morning, recovering classes in the afternoon, ranting furiously against the master, and repeat, you were free enough to dedicate the next weekend to the moving. The advantage of having been living in a furnished apartment was that you just had to worry about transporting your personal belongings, and the _great_ advantage of having the whole Family helping you two was that in just an hour Rebecca and you had all your things safely packed, and also the fact that Lao G appeared in front of your now ex-apartment with a moving truck also helped in the process.

After the last package was left in the manor’s entrance it was time to decide the distribution of your new rooms, because even if it was obvious where you were going to sleep from now on you had to choose among all the vacant rooms which one you were going to use for personal purposes. For example, Lao G had a private gym, Dellinger had a changing room full of his heels, Sugar had her own attraction park, Jora had her own private art gallery and painting studio, Gladius had a damn shooting range with a great variety of weapons, and Rebecca didn’t hesitate to ask for another changing room all for herself. At first you simply said that you were fine with a desk and a computer, but as you had expected Doflamingo wasn’t satisfied with that answer and eventually you had to talk him about your hobbies in order to give the room a better use ( **1** ). And that way, the new adventure of living with Doflamingo (plus the whole Family) began.

You find yourself suppressing an idiotic smile, remembering too something that Rebecca commented you some months ago when you told her what a bastard Doflamingo was: “ _t _his sounds as the typical romantic story that begins with the girl hating the guy for whom she’ll eventually fall”. Definitely, who was going to tell you that just some months later you would be happily living with that same man?__

“Have you finished organizing those orders, (y/n)?”

You come back to earth when hearing Corazon’s question. Fortunately you are good at multitasking and even if you had been daydreaming you have managed to finish.

“Yes, I have just classified them in two groups, depending on whether it is necessary to buy new materials to make them or we can manage with what we have. Also, all these orders are about doing Christmas Costumes for children”

Corazon nods.

“I figured that this would be the case, since schools are already preparing for Christmas Festivals”

“Yes, it’s true: the other day Sugar commented that they were preparing the festival in her class. I think that today was when she needed to choose the costume that she is going to wear”

As soon as you finish that sentence, the door of the shop snaps open and an enraged Dellinger steps inside holding hands with Sugar, who looked about to cry at any moment.

“Dellinger? Sugar?”, you exclaim while Corazon looks at the scene looking as concerned as you, “what’s the matter? Shouldn’t you be at school?”

“Yes, we should, but the teachers had just sent me and Sugar home after I told them that they were all idiots”, your mouth falls opened but Dellinger keeps talking angrily, not letting you intervene, “I know I probably shouldn’t have said that, but those idiots don’t let Sugar wear a grape costume in the festival because ‘ _that has nothing to do with the Christmas spirit_ ’. Because _obviously_ making her dress like a damn common pine tree is _sooo_ much better! _And_ if that wasn’t enough I supposedly have to be one of the Wise Kings but they do not let me adapt the costume! I’m going to look like an old man dressing in those horrible clothes that haven’t changed at all in the past _ten years!_ And of course when I’ve told them that I preferred to wear a female version of the original costume they have called me a _pervert_ and have told me that there was no way that a costume like that existed, the same way that there can’t exist a grape costume for Christmas, and that’s when I called them idiots and had sent me home and-”

“Dellinger, breath”, you are surprised when Corazon approaches the teenager and interrupts his outraged speak by setting his hands over his shoulders, “I can’t blame you for being upset but getting angry is not going to solve anything”

Dellinger lets out a deep breath and nods reluctantly while Sugar sniffs loudly.

“The teachers are idiots”

Corazon smiles and crouches in the floor to be at Sugar’s level.

“Yes, Sugar, they are, but for that reason there is a really easy way to do what you want: after all, they have told you that there is no way that those costumes exist. And yes, they probably are right: they don’t exist… _yet_ ”, Corazon smirks, looking incredibly similar to his brother with that expression, “but I’m going to make sure to have them ready next week, and since (y/n) will make sure to advertise them in the website as ‘ _Christmas Costumes_ ’, your teachers won’t be able to say anything”.

Dellinger, Sugar and you stare at Corazon in disbelief before the man keeps talking oozing confidence.

“So don’t cry, Sugar”, Corazon ruffles Sugar’s hair with affection, “you’re going to have the best grape costume of the whole school, and you, Dellinger…”, Corazon stands up and points at his chest softly with his index finger, “you can bet that you are going to be the most stunning Wise Queen of all the times”

It’s the first time you see Dellinger at a loss of words, and even Corazon seems surprised when the teenager suddenly hugs him and mutters an embarrassed and barely audible ‘ _thank you_ ’. Corazon smiles again and pats the teenager’s back kindly before separating.

“Okay, and now I think we should call Jora so that she goes to talk to your teachers”, Corazon says, “and it’s better if Doffy doesn’t hear about this because we don’t want to add ‘ _teachers’ murder_ ’ to his curriculum”

You begin to laugh when hearing Corazon’s too casual comment, because certainly you could perfectly imagine Doflamingo going to Dellinger and Sugar’s school accompanied by Machvise and Gladius to have a little _talk_ with the teachers. A talk that would surely involve very few words and too many fists.

After calling Jora the woman arrives at the shop in barely 15 minutes. She rants about the teachers with indignation during some minutes before taking the two kids with her back to the school. When you are alone again, Corazon exhales a deep sigh before talking with a little irritated tone.

“I’ve suggested to call Jora, but the truth is that a part of me wanted to go to those teachers myself to tell them a couple of things. Damn, it’s just a children festival: why can’t they just let children dress however they want? And seriously, calling a teenager a ‘pervert’ for wanting to dress differently? I don’t understand”, Corazon exhales another frustrated sigh before looking at you with surprise, “what?”

You realize at that moment that you have been looking at Corazon with an awed expression and chuckle. Right now you have remembered why exactly you had fallen so hard for Corazon. It was that mix of goofiness and determination what made him be so attractive. And of course now your heart belonged to Doflamingo, and the strong feelings that you once felt for Corazon were directed to his older brother alone, but it was also true that a little part of you would always like Corazon.

“Nothing, just that you’ve been really cool just now”, you smile at him playfully, “you have defended Dellinger and Sugar tooth and nail, so what the hell are you waiting for to join the Family?”

Corazon laughs with certain embarrassment before scratching the back of his head.

“I’m still thinking about the best way to help the Family at the same time that I keep doing my costumes”, he finally says, “I haven’t come up with an idea that convinces me yet, but when I do it you will be the first one to know”

You nod, satisfied with his answer.

“Cool. However, now there is something more important to do, so…”, you put yourself in front of the computer and looks at Corazon with an expectant smile, “…bring it on, Corazon: we need ideas for the Grape-Christmas costume and the Queen-Wise suit”

Corazon smiles back, laces his fingers, and stretches his arms in front of him to crack his knuckles.

“Of course, (y/n). Let’s get to work”

* * *

As you were expecting, during the couple of weeks just before Christmas you weren’t able to get bored: besides having to submit the last works of the year, you had to help Corazon in the shop more than ever because of the several orders of Christmas costumes that arrived almost every day, and last but not least you had to work in Donquixote Company and help to carry out the balance of the accounts, to assure that everything was in order.

For that reason, when finally the morning 22nd of December (Friday) arrived, you could finally breathe a little because it was the last day of class of the Master _and_ the start of some short holidays in Corazon’s shop and the Donquixote Company. Besides, that day Dellinger and Sugar’s festival was going to take place, so after finishing presenting your work you rapidly picked up your bag, wished Vivi, Koala and Kalifa to spend good days with the promise that you would meet them making the most of the holidays, and leave the University almost running to find Lao G waiting for you in the limousine outside,

“Sorry!”, you apologize, practically throwing yourself inside the car, “I’ve tried to go out as soon as possible”

“Don’t worry, Miss (y/n)”, Lao G says in a calm way that contrasted with the way he was driving at almost full speed, forcing you to grip the handle of the car ceiling as if your life depended on it, “the Family is already in the school and the Youn-G Master has made sure to politely ask the director not to start the festival until we arrive”

You roll your eyes and smile, thinking that definitely it had been a great idea not to tell Doflamingo about the little incident with Sugar and Dellinger’s costumes. Besides, at the end everything had gone right, since Corazon had managed to design them in a couple of days and with Bartolomeo and Cavendish’s help they were ready in just a week as promised. The only thing that you regretted was not having been able to see the face of the teachers when seeing the costumes exposed in the website.

In less than ten minutes Lao G and you are at the school. The building was really crowded with parents and other children’s relatives, so it takes you two a little to find the auditorium of the school where the festival was taking place. When you finally enter the room, this was filled with children enthusiastic loud voices, Christmas songs, and the useless attempts of the teachers to ask the children to remain silent. You look around for some seconds and this time it doesn’t take you much to find the Family: first, because they were occupying almost two lines of seats, and second, because Doflamingo’s broad back was something that was difficult to miss.

Lao G and you advance through the crowd with certain difficulty until you reach the line of seats. Because of the noise you manage to sneak momentarily behind Doflamingo to rapidly enclose your arms around his front from behind, causing the man to suffer a small jolt before turning to you with his characteristic smirk in place to kiss you with more intensity that you were expecting.

“Sorry, we are late”, you say, taking the seat next to him and waving your hand towards the other members of the Family, that greet you back in the same way. You can see that Corazon is also there, at the other side of the seat line, and you offer him a wider smile than he immediately returns. The only one who was missing was Rebecca, who had the festival of her own students and had been unable to come to Sugar and Dellinger’s.

“Oh, don’t worry, young lady: you aren’t”

You are surprised when Doflamingo turns his attention to one of the sides of the stage, where a frightened-looking man was standing trembling like a leaf and with his gaze fixed in the Family, as if he was afraid of missing something really important. At that moment Doflamingo raises his left hand with condescendence and snaps his fingers, the image making him look like a Roman Emperor deciding the luck of a gladiator in the arena. That simple action causes the man to jump funnily and practically run towards the microphone that was placed in the middle of the stage.

“S-Sorry for the wait, everyone. W-We were taking care of the last arrangements b-but finally the festival is starting right now”

“Wait a moment”, you turn to look at Doflamingo slowly while people begin to applaud with enthusiasm and certain impatience, “that was the director?”

“Yes”

“And was he just waiting for your signal to begin the festival?”

“Of course. I wasn’t going to let it start without you being here”

You can’t hold back the laughter when hearing Doflamingo’s natural answer.

“You are incredible”

Doflamingo’s smirk widens while looking back at you, taking one of your hands in his.

“Thanks for the compliment”

You chuckle again when catching the hint of irony in Doflamingo’s voice before finally focusing on the stage. You observe with more or less interest the children actuations until it’s the turn of Sugar’s class. You see out of the corner of your eye how Jora manages to extract from her bag a gigantic video-camera, and when a grape-dressed Sugar enters the stage, all the Family (you included) begins to applaud so loudly that for a moment the Christmas music that was accompanying the actuation is barely audible.

You incline a little forward in your seat and offers a thumb-up gesture at Corazon that he returns with a really pleased smile, because the truth was that even if you had assumed that the costume that Corazon was going to design for Sugar was going to be great, he had outdid himself: Sugar’s costume definitely stood out over the other children’s costumes in a really good way, and you were happy to hear some parents sitting behind you saying things along the lines: ‘ _look at that girl dressing like a grape! My son would have loved to dress that funnily too!_ ’

After Sugar’s actuation finishes, there are a couple more of them before the director, more calmed this time, announces that it was time to receive the three Wise Kings so that children received their Christmas presents. This time, when Dellinger steps in the stage dressing in his hand-made King Caspar costume some murmurs of disapproval can be heard at first, but at that moment Sugar, who was sitting with her class in the first seats, exhales a loud: ‘ _King Caspar rocks!_ ’ and immediately all her class _and_ the Family begins to say the same loudly, effectively shutting the murmurs.

You are surprised when feeling a mini-lump form in your throat when seeing Dellinger smiling at Sugar and waving his hand to her. It was really touching to see that even if they were _always_ fighting they also defended each other when necessary, and when it’s Sugar’s turn to receive her present and Dellinger hugs her tightly you can’t help to sob, causing Doflamingo to look at you surprised.

“Fu fu fu~. Do you need a tissue, dear?”

“Shut up”, you snap when hearing Doflamingo’s amused comment, but nevertheless accept the tissue that he offers you in a purposely over gallant gesture that makes you exhale a soft chuckle before blowing your nose as silently as possible.

After all the children received their presents you follow the Family outside the school. Sugar and Dellinger approach Corazon again to thank him for the costumes and the man accepts the thanks blushing a little before leaving, not without assuring Doflamingo that he and Law would join the Christmas party on December 24th.

You panic a little when hearing that, realizing that you had been so busy that you had completely forgot about buying presents for the Family. You comment that to Doflamingo in the limousine with a super guilty tone but he immediately calms you by saying that since the Family was so numerous they had decided some years ago just to make a shared present for each member, with the exception of Dellinger and Sugar that were young yet and received a present for each member of the Family.

“Oh, thank goodness”, you exclaim, falling backwards in the car seat, “I don’t know if I had been able to think ideas for all the members”

Doflamingo laughs when hearing your relieved tone.

“The truth is that we don’t even try to give ‘surprise’ presents: the day before Christmas all the Family goes shopping and decides what they want, so you can begin to think what you want as a present”, you open your mouth to speak but Doflamingo doesn’t tell you, “and yes, (y/n), it has to be a present of certain price or I will keep buying you things until reaching a sum that I consider appropriate”

You sigh.

“Okay, then I will just ask for what I want and if you are not satisfied you can just buy me all the lingerie that you want with the remaining money”

You gulp when Doflamingo slowly turns to look at you before raising his sunglasses, and when seeing the way his eyes are shining you blush.

“H-Hey, it was a joke!”

“Fu fu fu~. Thank you, young lady. I was wondering what I could give you individually but you have given me a great idea”

“ _Doffy_!”

You spend the rest of the trip discussing with Doflamingo, but you had the feeling that no matter how much you argued, it had been already decided what you were going to receive for Christmas.

* * *

“Jora, Corazon, are you sure that you don’t need any help?”

“No, dear”

“No, (y/n), we manage”

Despite they answer with confidence you can’t help to look with apprehension the fully equipped kitchen overflowing with plates, pots and pans where a great variety of food were being prepared.

“But you have cook for _twenty_ people”, you insist, “and this kitchen is big enough so that more people can help you tw- _wow_ ”

You don’t see Corazon coming until he has raised you in the air with fluency princess style.

“O-Oi”, you exclaim, remembering immediately something really similar that happened a couple of months ago with a different Donquixote, “Corazon, put me down!”

But Corazon ignores you and don’t fulfill your petition until you are out of the kitchen and back to the dining room.

“H-Hey”, you say when Corazon closes the door behind him and you hear the bolt being put.

“Sorry, (y/n), you’re banned from the kitchen until Jora and I finish”, you hear Corazon say at the other side of the door.

You sigh exaggeratedly before reluctantly do as Corazon says, finding the rest of the Donquixote Family in the same place where you have left them before going to unsuccessfully offer the cooks your help: Senor Pink and Baby 5 were on two different ladders that allowed to reach the top of the eight-meters impressive Christmas tree that was adorning the room, trying to fix some decorations that looked about to fall; Lao G and Buffalo were at the bottom of the ladders to prevent them from moving; Viola and Rebecca were setting the large table; Diamante, Pica, Trebol and Machvise were carrying the different presents under the tree, since some of them were pretty heavy; Gladius was preparing some firecrackers that he had the intention of throwing from the roof when it was midnight; and Doflamingo and Law were sitting on the respective sofas of the living room playing a board game with Sugar and Dellinger to keep them distracted from fighting, and from trying to open the presents before it was time.

When you approach the sofa both men raise their eyes from the board to look at you, a knowing smile appearing in Law’s face.

“Cora-san has kicked you out, right?”, Law laughs when you huff, sitting next to Doflamingo, “don’t take it personally: he does the same to me when I offer him help”

“Yes, the Donquixote brothers are stubborn as hell”, you ignore the way Doflamingo looks at you with an obviously fake ‘I-don’t-know-what-you-are-talking-about’ face and look at the board, “who is winning?”

Law snorts when he throws the dice and the result causes him to fall into a square with a negative effect.

“What do you think?”, he snaps, signaling Doflamingo’s side of the board where multiple house pieces had been built.

“It’s not funny to play with Doffy”, Dellinger says with a yawn while Sugar plays on her own with the game pieces without paying any particular attention with how the game was going, “he always wins”

Doflamingo snickers.

“Not always”

However, the next time that Doflamingo throws the dice Law snorts incredulously.

“Really? And now I have to pay you _again_?”, Law grunts with exasperation and practically throws some fake bills towards Doflamingo, “definitely this game is not funny in the least”

“Come on, doctor, don’t pout~”, Doflamingo chants with a grin, “if you lose my little brother will be more than pleased to _console_ you”

Law half-closes his eyes at Doflamingo while blushing, which causes you to feel pity for him and stand up from your seat.

“Okay, let’s see what you have”, the two men look at you surprised when you changes places and sit next to Law, beginning to look at his cards in concentration, “oh, I know what you can do”

You begin to whisper something in Law’s ear that causes his eyes to illuminate, being Doflamingo’s turn to frown.

“Very well, Doflamingo-ya”, with a smirk Law grabs one of the cards between index and forefinger and shows it to Doflamingo, “since you have more than ten properties _but_ you haven’t declared them all in each turn, with _this card_ I can ask you to pay the interest for each one of the properties you have”

Doflamingo’s expression remains imperturbable for some seconds, but he eventually exhales a deep breath and takes his wad of fake bills, beginning to separate some of them.

“Young lady, we are going to have a little talk later”

You begin to laugh when realizing that Doflamingo sounded really annoyed for the turn of events.

“It’s your fault for teasing the poor doctor so much. Besides…”, you surprise Doflamingo by standing up from your seat to set in his lap, perching your legs on either side of his body, “if you lose I can always _console_ you”   

Doflamingo’s annoyed expression turns into a hungry one, and when he licks his bottom lip you can feel a shiver travel down your spine.

“Well played, young lady”

Doflamingo leans forward to capture your lips in a passionate kiss that causes you to sigh in content, and Dellinger and Sugar to exhale respective ‘ _Yuck_ ’s. You also hear Rebecca saying ‘ _Get a room’_ from where she is setting the table, but you ignore her and entangles you tongue with Doflamingo, causing him this time to let out a satisfied grunt that goes directly to your core…

“(y/n)-ya, please, don’t distract your boyfriend now: he still has to pay me what he owes me”

You laugh into the kiss and recover your seat next to Doflamingo.

“Didn’t know that you were so competitive”, you say with amusement, seeing how happy Law looked when grabbing the fake money that _finally_ Doflamingo gives him.

“Not more than Cora-san”, Law says with a smile, “the first time I saw him about to lose his temper was while playing Uno when I played a Wild Draw Four card that made him lose”

You burst out laughing when hearing Law’s explanation.

“Okay, I know what I’m going to suggest to play after dinner. I definitely want to see Corazon getting all crazy in a game”, you say with enthusiasm, causing Law to laugh.

You keep observing the game for almost another hour, neutrally giving advices to Doflamingo, Law and Dellinger when it was their turn, which caused them to thank you and hate you at the same time, which was rather funny. Viola and Rebecca end joining the game to and at that moment you do take sides: you with go, Viola with Dellinger and Sugar, and Rebecca with Law, and it was not a surprise when Doflamingo is the one who wins at the end.

Just at that moment the doorbell sounds. Lao G stops helping with the presents to open the door, and your eyes open wide when seeing Monet entering the room, followed by Vergo.

“Surprise! Merry Christmas to everyone!”

The next moments are a little chaotic because Monet and Vergo hadn’t warned that they were going to arrive today: you were all expecting them for New Year, so their arrival caused all the members of the Family to approach them to greet them rather effusively. Especially Sugar, who approaches her big sister in a run and practically throws herself in her arms, causing the woman to be about to fall into the floor.

“Hey, sweetie”, Monet exclaims, kissing Sugar several times in her cheek, “it’s been a while”, at that moment Monet turns to look at you, “and I finally meet you in person, (y/n). Better late than never”

You smile back and accepts Monet’s hug before turning towards Vergo to introduce yourself too. You are about to comment that there is a rather big piece of steak hanging from his cheek but at the end decides to ignore it. After all, according to Corazon no matter how many times you pointed that out to Vergo, the man didn’t understand what you meant, so it was better to let the piece of food to fall itself.

Barely five minutes later the door of the kitchen opens and Jora steps out announcing that dinner is ready. You are about to follow the Family to the dining room but just at that moment your mobile begins to sound.

You look at the screen confused, since you weren’t expecting any call, and when seeing the name of the screen your eyes open wide. You look around nervously, and when seeing that Doflamingo was busy talking with Monet and Vergo you rapidly tell Rebecca that you had to attend a call and that you would join them soon.

After that you abandon the living room in the direction of your bedroom and just then you answer the phone.

“Inspector Smoker?”, you say cautiously, not sure yet that it was him at the other side of the line, “what are you doing calling me no-?”

“ _Why on earth I have just received  package from your damn boyfriend in my office_?!”

You have to separate your mobile from your ear when Smoker (yes, it was definitely him) begins to shout just in your ear.

“Package?”, you repeat, utterly confused, “I don’t understand what-”

“ _Oh, you neither? Well, how nice, that makes two of us. But I would like to know why Donquixote Doflamingo, the bastard that the whole police department dreams to catch one day, has just send me a package full of money!_ ”

You blink a couple of times before closing your eyes, rubbing a temple with patience. Definitely, Doflamingo was a first grade bastard.

“Okay, I think it’s his way to thank you for having helped rescued me with Crocodile’s incident”

“ _I don’t need ANYTHING from that bastard, understood?”,_ you have to move the phone away again not to end irremediably deaf, _“And doesn’t he realize that sending me that package makes me looks like as if I was taking bribes from him?!_ ”

“Emh…yes, I think he perfectly realizes, and that he had done it precisely for that”, you detect the murderous aura of Smoker at the other side of the phone and immediately keeps talking, “I-I’ll talk to Doffy, okay? And I will tell him not to send anything else to you. I don’t know if he will listen to me but I will try”

You hear Smoker sigh at the other side of the line.

“ _I guess that your word will have to be enough_ ”, he says with resignation.

 “W-Wait, inspector”, you say rapidly when feeling that the inspector was about to hang up, “I haven’t thanked you yet for having given Viola so much information about Crocodile. That helped the Family a lot to find me fast, so thank you. You didn’t have any reason to help me, but you still did. You are a really good man”

You hear Smoker sigh at the other side of the line.

“ _That man, Crocodile, did he do something to you_?”

You smile when hearing the concern in Smoker’s voice, even if it he had probably tried not to sound that way.

“No, he just scared me a little, but I managed pretty well. I’m tougher than I look”

Smoker snorted.

“ _Yes, you definitely are. But please, from now on make sure to take care of yourself. I’ve given up in convincing you to stay away from that bastard, but the last thing I want is to find a promising young woman like you in the morgue one day because some illegal deal had gone wrong and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time_ ”

Smoker’s crude words make you shiver but you nod with confidence, until realizing that Smoker couldn’t see the gesture.

“Don’t worry, inspector. Believe it or not, Doflamingo knows how to take care of his people, and he would never allowed that something like that happened to me”

You heard Smoker chewing on his cigar(s).

“ _I hope you are right, miss_ ”

You chuckle when hearing his skeptic tone.

“I am, inspector”, at that moment the door of the bedroom opens and you feel your heart skipping a beat when seeing Doflamingo in the frame, looking at you questioningly, “I have to go now. Have a nice Christmas”

You are unable to hear Smoker’s answer because you hang up.

“Who were you talking too?”

You suppress the urge to gulp, because you more or less anticipate what Doflamingo’s reaction was going to be.

“With Inspector Smoker”, you see Doflamingo’s whole body tensing and you immediately keep talking, “before you say anything it’s been your fault: if you hadn’t sent him a package with money he wouldn’t have called me to insult you”

Fortunately, your words cause Doflamingo to smirk with amusement.

“Oh, so he didn’t like it?”

You roll your eyes but you can’t suppress a little smile.

“Obviously he didn’t, and you know it. So please, could you NOT do that again? Or at least wait until the inspector does something to actually bother you”

Doflamingo sighs and crosses his arms, causing his black shirt to tighten in just the right spots.

“I can’t make any promises but I’ll try”

You nod satisfied and are about to leave the bedroom but Doflamingo doesn’t move.

“And did he call you just for that?”

You hesitate but at the end you decide that there’s no point in lying.

“Well, he warned me once again of how dangerous it was to being with you. And that he was afraid that something bad ended happened to me because of that”

Doflamingo hums.

“And what did you answer?”

You smile with confidence and enclose your arms around Doflamingo’s neck.

“That I had you to protect me”

Doflamingo’s smile widens before enclosing his arms around your waist, pressing your against him.

“You know, Jora and Corazon had just realized that he had forgot to prepare Senor Pink’s favorite dish”, Doflamingo comments casually, “so maybe it takes the dinner another fifteen minutes to be ready”

You feel your heart skipping another beat when Doflamingo’s hands travel down until cupping your buttocks oh-so-casually, giving them a soft pinch that make you smile playfully.

“Oh, really?”, you force Doflamingo to bend down a little to reach his ear, “and do you have something in mind to pass time?”

Doflamingo’s breath hitches briefly when you sensually lick his pierced before releasing your ass with one hand to grab your chin a little forcibly.

“I think I’ll figure something out”, he hisses against your mouth with lust before kissing you fiercely in a way that causes your knees go weak.

Doflamingo grabs you in the air and makes you wrap your legs around his waist to walk you towards his king-size bed, not stopping kissing you for even one second.

Well.

It seemed that you were going to make the Family wait once again.

\-----

( **1** ) **A/N** : Since everyone surely has very different hobbies I decided you to imagine how your own private room looks like :) Mine would surely have a giant dance platform because I love to dance and a giant TV to see anime and movies xP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have liked to post this chapter in Christmas, but well, better late than never. 
> 
> **Spoiler of the next chapter** : (keeping with writing things about events that had already passed) (y/n) celebrates Valentine’s Day with Doffy, and also resumes his job as Casanova to help certain pairs :)


	22. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You prepare yourself for Valentine’s Day while helping your friends and Family with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I don’t describe the red dress that (y/n) wears so you can imagine the one you want. In my case, I would wear something like [this](https://img.promgirl.com/_img/PGPRODUCTS/1412883/1000/red-dress-JO-JVN-JVN32608-a.jpg) :D
> 
>  
> 
> **Warning: NSFW**

After Christmas holidays were over you came back to routine, and were forced to spend practically the entire January locked up in the library of the University with your companions of the master, preparing the multiple works that you had to present by the end of the semester.

“Jeez, I’m tired of all this”

“We know, Koala: you haven’t stopped protesting during the whole morning”, Kalifa says without raising her head from the notes she was taking, causing Koala, who was sitting next to you, to lean her head over the table with a whine.

“Don’t despair, we just need to survive to one more infernal week”, Vivi cheers her, leaning a little over the table to pat the whining girl’s head amicably.

“I don’t know if I can”

“Of course you can”, you snort while continuing choosing the design of the power point for the next work that you had to present, “besides, think that when this is over you will have aaall the time you want to decide the Valentine’s present for Sabo”

As you were expecting, that last sentence makes Koala straighten up again with bright eyes.

“(y/n), what have you done?”, Kalifa exclaims in horror, “now she will begin to ramble about her boyfriend”

“Well, but at least she has stopped mopping”, you elbow Koala playfully and the girl sticks outher tongue at you cutely.

“Do you know what you’re going to give him for Valentine’s Day?”

“ _Vivi_!”

“Come on, Kalifa, we’ve been working for three hours non-stop: we deserve a little rest”

Kalifa clicks her tongue and after adjusting her glasses she continues working, pretending not to be paying attention to the conversation.

“Well, since I have some savings thanks to my part-time job at the clothing shop I think I will plan a romantic escapade for that weekend”, Koala fixes her eyes in Vivi and smiles mischievously, “and what about you, Viv? Will you be brave enough to give Kohza some chocolates this year?”

“ _Sssssh_ , Koala, don’t speak so loud!”, Vivi looks around her in fear, red as a tomato, and you can’t help to see some similarities in the way Koala teases Vivi with the way Rebecca usually teases you.

“Come on, Vivi, you’re childhood friends, you chose the same career _and_ he hasn’t been with anyone in all this time: surely he likes you too”

Vivi gulps when hearing your arguments before biting her bottom lip.

“W-Well, I can always show him the chocolates and if he puts a too weird face I’ll lie and say that I just wanted his opinion but that they are for someone else”

“You can give them to me in that case”, you immediately say, “in my code it is written never reject chocolates”

Vivi chuckles, recovering her usual pale color while Koala turns to Kalifa.

“And what about you? Will you finally declare your love to your boss?”

Kalifa glares at Koala, but she is even redder than Vivi when answering in a little stuttering offended tone.

“I-I never said that I _love_ Iceburg! That’s sexual harassment!”

“No, it isn’t”, you three say at unison before Koala speaks again.

“Okay, then if you don’t love him why do you have your mobile full of photos of him?”

“What?! How do you know that?!”

“It’s your fault for telling me to look after your things when you’re going to the restroom!”

“ _THAT’S SEXUAL HARASSMENT_!!”

Vivi and you start laughing but at that moment the librarian clears her throat loudly, subtly reproaching you four for being so loud.

“By the way, (y/n), you told us that your boyfriend was Donquixote Doflamingo, right? The Boss of the Donquixote Family”

You turn towards Vivi surprised.

“Yes, what’s with that?”

“Nothing, just that my father will probably contact him soon”, Vivi explains, “the thing is that my father hired the services of Baroque Works for his business but apparently something happened that caused the company to lose some of his reputation, so he was thinking about changing the provider”

“Oh”, you simply say, not knowing if Vivi knew about the illegal component of Baroque Works and the Donquixote company, “well, that’s nice. I’m sure your father will be satisfied with the services than the Donquixote Company offers as long as your father reads the contract that he signs from cover to cover”

Vivi exhales a surprised laugh.

“That has totally sounded like a warning”

When Vivi says it as a joke you are about to say that you were serious, but then you think that if Vivi’s father was in the business word he had to be used to read tricky contracts for sure, so at the end you decide not to insist in the matter and come back to tease her and Kalifa about their respective crushes.

After having lunch at the University you spend another hour studying in the library before going to Corazon’s shop. When you enter there isn’t anyone on the counter but you can hear Corazon and Bartolomeo’s voices coming from the measurement room, so you go there and knock a couple of times.

“Who is it?”

You are surprised when practically feeling the tension at the other side of the door after Corazon asks that.

“It’s (y/n)”, you say hesitantly, causing the two men inside to let out a relieved sigh.

“Okay, you can come in then”

You do as Corazon says and your mouth falls slack when seeing Bartolomeo dressing in a _suit_. He wasn’t wearing neither a jacket nor a cravat and the sleeves of his shirt were a little rolled up, but still, compared with his usual style, he looked really formal.

“What the HELL?”

Corazon, who is in front of Bartolomeo fixing the neck of his shirt, begins to laugh while the punk clicks his tongue in annoyance.

“Come on, (y/n), you have three opportunities to guess why the hell I am dressing like this”

“O-Okay, uhm…”, you think for a moment before exhaling a gasp in illumination, “you have found a new job that requires you to dress in a suit”

“Cold”

“Mmm you have lost a bet”

“I wish”

“Oh my god, don’t tell me you are going to a funeral!”

“What the fuck? No!”, Bartolomeo exclaims while Corazon bursts out laughing.

“Hint: it has something to do with Valentine’s Day”

After hearing Corazon’s words it doesn’t take you much to throw another guess.

“Are you going to bring Cavendish to some elegant place to eat or something?”

“Bingo”, Corazon says while Bartolomeo nods languidly.

“Yeah. He has mentioned more than once how great the ‘Golden Rose’ restaurant is since his manager invited him and other models to a meal there, and obviously you have to dress to the nine to enter there. However after seeing the fucking price of the menu like hell if I’m going to pay for a suit, so I’ve asked Cora-senpai help to use a more or less credible costume”

“And can’t you just invite him to a still good but cheaper place?”, you suggest, causing Bartolomeo to shrug.

“Yeah, I could, but Cavendish has been helping me and the band a lot these weeks. He was always protesting for how untidy and dirty our garage was, but he gave us some good ideas for our new songs, and he even helped me pay for a new guitar since mine was rather old so…”, Bartolomeo clears his throat a little uncomfortably and scratches the back of his head brusquely, “…I-I think I owe him this, so I’ll invite him to that fucking expensive fancy place even if that means that I’m going to look ridiculous on this damn suit”

“Actually I think that you look rather good right now”, you say sincerely, “a bad boy that changes his style to dress elegantly is always hot, and I’m sure that Cavendish will think the same when seeing you”

Bartlomeo snorts but he was blushing lightly when taking next.

“Thanks, (y/n). Although he better not expect that I change my style for now own”

“I don’t think so”, you say patting Bartolomeo’s arm amicably before turning towards Corazon, “and do you have something in mind for your doctor?”

Corazon smiles while gesturing Bartolomeo to turn around to help him put on a vest.

“Well, Law told me that he will be seeing patients at the hospital all day, but I will go to visit him during his rest time to eat together”

“Oh, then you should bring him something too!”, you exclaim, “I can perfectly imagine his dumb face when seeing you appear at the hospital with flowers, or even better: with a hand-made lunch, because I’m pretty sure that the food of the hospital isn’t the best”

Corazon’s face illuminates when hearing your suggestions.

“Those are excellent ideas!  Besides, he probably suspects that I’m going to visit him, but I’m sure he won’t expect all that. Thanks a lot, (y/n)!”

You smile happily, thinking to yourself that it was a great change that you could keep helping Corazon from time to time with Law without feeling that disagreeable knot in your stomach that always settled when you were in love with the man and helped him with his romantic affairs.

“And to close the circle what about you, (y/n)?”, Bartolomeo inquires, “do you know what you are going to give to your scary boyfriend?”

“Actually I don’t have the least idea”, you say nervously, “I mean, what can you give to a man that has the money to buy absolutely _everything_ he wants?”

 “Yeah, that’s problematic”, Corazon offers you an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry, in his birthday the only thing I could come up with were a new pair of glasses”

“It’s okay”, you say with a dismissive gesture, “I’ll keep thinking for a couple of days and if I still don’t manage to have a good idea I’ll ask some members of the Family”

At that moment the bell of the shop sounds and Bartolomeo gets pale when hearing Cavendish saying a surprised ‘ _Uhm, is anybody here?_ ’, so you rapidly stomp out the measurement room and gain some time talking to Cavendish until Corazon and Bartolomeo join you as well, the last one wearing his usual punk clothes.

The rest of the afternoon was rather calm and you return home a little earlier than usual. The Family was still working at the company and Rebecca was out in an excursion with his students, so the only people you find in the manor are Dellinger, Sugar and, surprisingly, Viola.

“Welcome home”, Viola greets you from the living room, where she was half-lying in the sofa with a laptop over her legs while Dellinger and Sugar watched TV, “you’ve come early”

“Yes, today there wasn’t much work on the shop”, you leave your bag next to one of the armchairs before sitting on it, next to Viola, “are you still working?”

Viola nods, without averting her eyes from the laptop not to lose concentration.

“Yes. It turns out that Smoker has just ordered me to retrieve old information form a closed case, obviously to prevent me from taking part in his new investigation about Doffy. He told me that he expected to have the report in his table in a week, so I’m making sure to finish today and present my report tomorrow first time in the morning. That way he won’t be able not to let me join his investigation”

“Poor Smoker”, you can’t help to say sincerely, causing Viola to chuckle.

“Don’t let Doffy hear you say that”

“Don’t worry I won’t”, at that moment, an idea suddenly crosses your mind, “hey, Viola”

“Yes?”

“Since you went out with Doffy, do you have any ideas about what I could give him for Valentine’s Day?”, you are surprised when Viola immediately stops typing and looks at you with her eyes open wide, “what?”

“N-Nothing”, she says with a surprised laugh, “it’s just that I wasn’t expecting the question. I mean, I thought that you preferred not to talk about my previous relationship with him”

“Oh”, it’s your time to let out an embarrassed chuckle, “well, I confess that the first time I heard about it I was a little jealous, but I don’t feel that way anymore. Or at least I think so”

Viola laughs briefly.

“I love your sincerity, (y/n)”, Viola leaves her laptop over the table and adopts a Buda position over the sofa, “so you are looking for a present for Doffy”

“Yes, and I’m really lost”, you admit, “I mean, I guess that glasses and a flashy t-shirt are always an option, but I don’t know, what do you think?”

Viola hums to herself before speaking.

“If my memory doesn’t fail me when we were together I gave him chocolates and a rather colored cravat, but if you ask me I think that you should try to give him something more personal”

“More personal?”, you repeat, “like what?”

“Well, Doffy doesn’t wear any jewels except his earrings, so you could give him a personalized one, for example”

“Oh, it would have never occurred to me”, you smile happily, “thanks a lot, Viola. I think I’ll do that”

“You’re welcome. And also…”, Viola leans towards you so hat Dellinger and Sugar don’t hear her, “…don’t forget that men are _really_ easy to content, so giving them a surprise in the bedroom is always guaranteed success”

The moment Viola says that an idea pops in your mind. An idea that causes you to blush and grin at the same time.

 “I see that you know already what to do”

You chuckle when seeing Viola’s knowing smile.

“Yes, more or less”

A comfortable silence falls between you two and Viola is about to take his laptop again when you speak again.

“Uhm…”, when Viola looks at you with curiosity you hesitate, not knowing very well how Viola was going to react when hearing your question,  “…okay, what I’m going to ask you is none of my business, and I’ll understand if you don’t want to answer me, but I can’t help to wonder why Doffy and you broke up. I mean, you get along really well now, so what did it go wrong?”

You immediately feel guilty when Viola gulps and averts her eyes, tucking her hair behind her ear in an obvious uncomfortable gesture.

“Shit, sorry, forget I have asked. You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to-”

“No no no, it’s okay”, Viola says rapidly with a nervous smile, “and it’s perfectly understandable that you want to know”

There is a little pause and after taking a breath, Viola speaks.

“As you already know, I met Doffy eight years ago during a party that was held in his previous company. At that moment I was just a 21 years-old police officer and my mission was to try to infiltrate in his Family to gather information about him”, Viola smiles to herself, “However, despite all my training, Doffy read my true intentions the moment I approached him. His intelligence, physique and charisma caught my attention from the start, and although at first I tried to deny my attraction for him, at the end I was unable to resist, so we initiated a relationship and I became a double agent for the Family. We were together for almost a year, and then after that we decided to remain as friends”

Your eyes open wide.

“Just like that?”

Viola nods.

“Yes, just like that. I don’t have to tell you how perceptive Doffy is, so he always knew the truth when we began to go out together”

You frown with confusion.

“What truth?”

Viola smiles with a hint of sadness.

“That I was secretly in love with another man. A man with whom I would never be able to be, and who I’d never be able to stop loving no matter what”

Your mouth falls opened when hearing Viola’s confession, but before you can even process her words the woman keeps talking.

“Actually, he discovered this even before we initiated our relationship, but he nevertheless accepted to be with me. After all, we liked each other and the attraction was mutual, so even if we never fell in love we spent pretty good and funny moments together. At some point though, I couldn’t help to begin to feel bad for being with Doffy when my heart belonged to someone else. I felt as if I was betraying both of them, so eventually we decided to remain just as friends”

A heavy silence falls next, just broken for the now distant sound of the TV that Sugar and Dellinger kept watching, until you decide to break it completely.

“I’m sorry”, you say sincerely, “I didn’t want to make you remember bad things”

Viola shakes her head reassuringly.

“It’s okay. I’ve already got used to keep my feeling for myself, and at least I have a pretty good relation with this man that I’ve mentioned”

You bite your tongue not to ask anything else, but your curiosity must show on your face because Viola chuckles.

“I’ll tell you who this man is if you promise not to tell anyone, since this is something that just Doffy knows”

You almost break your neck while you nod, and after exhaling a soft sigh Viola mutters a name.

“Kyros”

It takes you a moment to remember that name, and when you do your eyes snap opened.

“WHAT?!”, you cover your mouth with your hands when Dellinger and Sugar look at you with curious eyes, and make sure to lower your voice when taking next, “you mean Rebecca’s father?”

Viola blushes and nods.

“Yes, I know that there has to be something wrong with me for falling for my sister’s husband. In fact, at first I only saw him as an older brother. After all there was a 13 years difference between my sister and me, and I was just 5 years old when Scarlett married Kyros, who was 20 at the time, and when Rebecca was born that same year. However, ten years later my sister died in a robbery and I began to live with Kyros and Rebecca, and during that time everything changed”

“The way Kyros was able to endure the death of my sister to keep taking care of Rebecca, who at that moment was just 10 years old, putting her happiness above everything else; the way he always had a smile for her, for me, when we couldn’t help to cry because we missed Scarlett; the way he just waited until the night, when he thought nobody could hear him, to let out his pain and sob in silence for having lost his most important one; and the way he let me stay in his home, helping me with my studies since the degree I wanted to study was in another city different from my parent’s one”, a loving smile appears in Viola’s face, “All those things made me fall completely in love with Kyros when I was just a 15 years-old teenager, even if I knew I could never confess my feelings, even if I knew that he would always see me as the little sister of the woman he had loved so deeply”

You find yourself gulping to remove the lump that had formed in your throat, and without thinking you stand up from the armchair to lean over Viola and hug her tightly. You would like to say something to cheer her up but you were really afraid of beginning to cry if you tried to speak, and it seems that Viola notices it because she returns the hugs while laughing softly.

“I’m okay, really”, Viola assures, still hugging you, “it’s just a little hard at times when I see him, but I can handle it pretty well, and as the years have passed I have learnt to be happy with just being part of his family”

You are about to snap that just having to ‘handle it’ was not fair at all, but at that moment the door of the manor snap opened and a hysterical Baby 5 stomps in the living room, causing Viola and you to separate to look at her with worry.

“Baby 5?”, Viola asks, staring at the almost hyperventilating girl, “what’s wrong? Has something happened?”

“I-I just finally discovered where Sai lives!!”, the girl says almost shouting, “I tried to sneak inside his house but it’s pretty damn well guarded, and stupid Doffy doesn’t let me grab the bazooka to try to open the door, so I’ve come here to grab some grenades from Gladius!!”

Just when Baby 5 is going to disappear towards the stairs, Viola and you stand up from the sofa and run towards the girl. With some difficulty you both manage to convince her that instead of breaking into Sai’s house, she could pay him a visit at work instead, and ask him directly for a date.

When after some minutes Baby 5 is still hesitating you offer to accompany her at that same moment to the gym where Sai worked together with his brother and grandfather. Since Lao G was still at the company you and Baby 5 take a taxi while Viola remains in the manor with the kids.

During all the trip Baby 5 doesn’t stop biting her nails with nervousness, so you make sure to speak a lot to keep her distracted as possible. When you finally arrive the gym is about to close and Baby 5 exhales a little shout when seeing Sai in front of it, wearing a bag on his shoulder while closing the building.

“It’s him!!”

“Baby 5, wait!”, you exclaim when Baby opens the door of the car and steps out without waiting for the driver to stop.

After apologizing to the man and paying him what you owe him you step out as well just in time to see Baby 5 just in front of Sai, who had just frozen and was looking at the girl with a little terrified expression.

You remain at a prudent distance, not wanting to interfere, but when you see that Baby 5 just stays in front of Sai with an awed expression without saying anything and the man is about to walk past her, you eventually decide to approach them both.

“H-Hey, good night”, Sai gives a short jump when you practically appear in front of him, “I don’t know if you remember me: I’m (y/n), we met at the inauguration of the Donquixote Company”

“Oh, yes, I remember”, the man says after a moment of confusion with a rude voice that contrasted with his polite tone.

 “And you remember Baby 5?”, you say then, signaling Baby 5, “she was also at the party”

“Yes, you told me to marry you after I helped you clean the wine of the table ♥!!”

“I didn’t! I’m sure that I just thanked you!”, Sai immediately says with certain exasperation, so you deduce that it was not the first time that Baby 5 told him something like that.

“A-Anyway”, you decide to speak again before the man decided to begin to run away from you two, “we are here because Baby 5 wanted to ask you something”

You look at Baby 5 pointedly, indicating her that it was her chance to speak. Baby 5 biting her bottom lip, blushing like crazy, and then, finally, opens her mouth.

“T-Then, if you thanked me, does that mean that you need me ♥?!”

You can’t certainly blame Sai when this one blinks his eyes in confusion, because you are about to face palm and give up in trying to pair those two.

However, just at that moment providence makes you look towards the glassed window of the gym, where a paper with information has been stuck, and then you know what to do.

“W-What Baby 5 says is that it seems that you seems to need people for the fighting exhibition that takes place in April, right?”

Sai’s confused expression turns into one of expectation while looking to Baby 5.

“Wait, do you mean that you want to join our team?”

You decide to speak again to prevent the girl to misinterpret the sentence and say something related to marriage again.

“Yes, she wants to”, you say effusively, “and she is a really good fighter: her kicks are deadly and her physical condition is top, so I’m sure she is exactly what you’re looking for”

Sai bursts out laughing and suddenly settles his hands over Baby 5’s shoulders, causing the girl to let out a high-pitched cry while blushing even more.

“Thank you very much! I appreciate your help a lot. Could you come tomorrow to the gym so that I can explain you how the fighting competition is going to be?”

“To come tomorrow? With _you_?”, Baby 5 places her hands on her own cheeks, her eyes illuminating, “it’s a date then!! ♥”

This time you can barely suppress the laughter when seeing Sai trying to convince the girl during the following five minutes that it wasn’t a date, because there were going to be more people at the gym. Well, you had done everything you could to try to draw those two closer, and unless your feminine intuition failed you, the way Sai was blushing when Baby 5 blew him a kiss as a goodbye clearly indicated that the possibilities of those two ending together weren’t zero.

* * *

“Rebecca, I beg you, it’s fine already: if I don’t go with Doffy we are going to be super late”

“ _Shhh_! Stop talking or this will take longer”

Since Rebecca is now applying a new lipstick on you, you can’t do anything but obeying the girl. After another five minute Rebecca looks at you and smiles satisfied, urging you to look at your reflection  in the mirror of her gigantic changing room.

“See?! Come on, I dare you to tell me that I haven’t done a great job”

“Of course you have, Becca, and thanks, but I’m still late!!”

Rebecca laughs while you hurriedly put on your heels and check that you have everything in your mini-purse, especially Doflamingo’s present.

“Are you meeting with the girls tonight at the end?”, you ask after finally managing to close your purse not without certain effort.

“Yep: Robin, Nami, Boa, and I. The single ladies are going all out tonight. I’ve tried to convince my aunt to join me but she hasn’t wanted to come”

 You bite your tongue, remembering the promise you made Viola about not saying anything about her feeling for Kyros. You were pretty sure that in case of telling Rebecca she would gladly want to pair her aunt and her father together, but no, you couldn’t break that promise.

“Okay, I’m ready”, you give Rebecca a big kiss on her cheek, leaving a carmine lips mark on it, “have fun tonight”

“You too, (y/n). During and _after_ dinner”

You laugh when hearing the innuendo in your friend’s words and with a last goodbye you abandon the changing room in the direction of the stairs. You climb them down carefully not to trip down and see that Doflamingo is there already, waiting for you. He is wearing a black suit, a vibrant red shirt that combined with his glasses, and a black cravat. He is also carrying in one of his hands the coat that you were going to wear tonight.

“I’m sorry, we are going to be late for sure because of me”

It seems though that you were the only one that was worried for that fact, since Doflamingo takes his time to ogle you while smirking hungrily, causing you to end as red as his shirt.

“The truth is, (y/n), that right now I’m really considering skipping dinner”

You chuckle, still blushing.

“Sorry, Doffy, but after all the time it has taken me to dress like this we are going to that restaurant”

“Fu fu fu~. I had the feeling that you would say something like that”

After helping you put your coat you two leave the manor, where Lao G is waiting for you in the limousine.

It takes you around twenty minutes to arrive to the Rich district, as you named it, and another five until Lao G stops in front of a restaurant with the words ‘Celestial Dragons’ hanging over the entrance of the building.

“Oh, we have been here before, right?”, you accept Lao G’s hand to step outside the car before taking the arm that Doflamingo is offering you.

“Yes, but just for lunch”, Doflamingo explains, “and since the last time we visited it they have included a VIP menu that seems to be the best of the town”

‘ _Yep, and probably the most expensive_ ’, you think to yourself.

The moment you both enter a female employee approaches Doflamingo and you to take your coats. You had brought a glitter red scarf, just in case the air conditioner was too high and you were cold, but the temperature of the place was perfect, so you decide to leave it as well with the rest of the clothes.

Also, the man that you suspected was the owner of the restaurant personally welcomes Doflamingo and you before leading the way inside the restaurant. There is easily a hundredth of tables where rich-looking people are having dinner, and you can’t help to notice the way that most part of them stop their conversation or their eating to stare at Doflamingo, and also at you.

You try to keep walking with calm, pretending that attracting so much attention was an everyday thing even if you were feeling pretty nervous. You really admired the way Doflamingo was able to walk as if he owned the damn whole place without feeling the least sign of discomfort. You guess that after so many years of being one of the most powerful men of the town, and probably of the world, for him it was normal to be treated as if he was superior to the rest of the mortals, but you had been living such a stylish life for just two months so all this was new for you.

For that reason, when you finally reach the VIP zone situated in the top floor of the restaurant and see that you are practically alone, you can’t help to exhale a relieved sigh.

“Fu fu fu~. Feeling a little overwhelmed, (y/n)?”

You snort when hearing Doflamingo’s teasing tone, taking a seat just in front of him.

“Overwhelmed? Me? Nah:  I don’t mind at all that a hundred people stares at me as if I was from another planet-oh my _god_ ”

Your eyes fly open when staring at the exorbitant prices of the menu.

“What? Is there something wrong with the menu?”

You look at Doflamingo with stupor.

“Doffy, the price of this menu is what I’m currently earning for working in the costume shop”

Doflamingo exhales a patient sigh before leaning his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together to lean his chin over them.

“(y/n), we have already talked about this”

“Yes, I know, and I understand that one of the advantages of having a bunch money is to spend it, but still I can’t help to feel kind of… _bad_ for investing so much in just a dinner”

Doflamingo snickers while pouring a little of wine on his glass, after checking that, as always, you didn’t want any.

“You just have to get used to your new lifestyle. Believe me: in less than a year you will be stopping worry about wasting money, as the rest of the Family does”

You can’t help to laugh, remembering how crazy day it was when you went shopping with the Family during Christmas, and how they were about to leave some shops of the mall completely empty.

“Okay, I promise that when I’m with you I’ll try not to pay too much attention to the prices, so let’s see…”

After both of you make your choices a waiter immediately approach your table to take note of them, and not even five minutes have passed until the first dish is served. Although one of your main topic of conversations with Doflamingo was usually work, either about how your Master or your work at the shop were going, this time you mainly talk about how the others were spending Valentine’s Day, since when you are about to finish your first dish you receive a message from Bartolomeo saying that Cavendish had loved his suit even more than the restaurant.

“Oh god, he had sent a picture”, you download it and your eyes open wide while laughing when seeing that Bartolomeo seemed to have taken a selfie in the bathroom of the restaurant after making out with Cavendish, because his hair was even more disheveled than usual, there were some clear hickeys on his neck, and his idiotic smile was hard to misinterpret, “weeell, I think that tomorrow I’m going to have all the details of what happened in that bathroom”

“Fu fu fu~. I see that you have not abandoned yet your Casanova role. Corazon also told me that you helped him to prepare his date with Trafalgar”

“He exaggerates as always: he had already the plan and I just gave him a couple of suggestions”, you answer Bartolmeo with several ‘thumbs up’ emojis and activate the ‘silence mode’ of your mobile not to be distracted again with it.

“Sure, and Baby 5 also exaggerates when saying that thanks to you she can spend all her afternoons training with the grandson of Chinjao, right?”

You exhale a nervous laugh.

“Okay, that was my fault”, you take another bite of your dish and look at Doflamingo with curiosity, “by the way, I think Senor Pink doesn’t have any plans for Valentine’s Day, and considering how much he flirts at the office I thought that he would have a date for sure”

Apparently, Doflamingo’s expression doesn’t change one bit, but you knew him well enough already to detect a light tension surrendering him for just a tiny moment.

“Wait, is it for something that happened in his past?”, you ask with a frown, causing Doflamingo to look at you momentarily surprised.

“Impressive, (y/n). I’ll have to be careful if I don’t want to be read too easily”, Doflamingo’s joking tone turns serious, “yes, you have guessed right”

Your intrinsic curiosity makes you want to know more about the topic, but you decide to refrain yourself. First, because Doflamingo’s reaction told you that Senor’s Pink story wasn’t going to be a happy one, and second, because you have noticed that the Family never mentioned what had happened in their lives before they joined Doflamingo, as if the only thing that mattered was what they become after becoming part of the Family, and definitely you weren’t going to be the one in inquiring about things that they preferred not to mention.

“Well, he is not the only one that doesn’t have a date: Rebecca is having an only-ladies-allowed night out right now”

Doflamingo chuckles and takes a sip of his glass before speaking again.

“However, I think that Trebol and Diamante have gone to have dinner as well”

Your eyes snap opened.

“Really?”, Doflamingo nods, causing you to chuckle in surprise, “okay, I wasn’t expecting that. With whom?”

“Sorry?”

“I mean, who are their partners?”

Doflamingo looks at you, momentarily confused, and then an amused smirk appears on his face.

“Young lady, I meant that they have gone to have dinner _together_ ”

You blink once.

Then twice.

And then your eyes snap opened while your mouth falls opened.

“ _WHAT_?!”

Your shout causes the waiter, who had just approached to serve the main course, to almost throw the dishes to the ground because of the surprise. You hurriedly apologize to the man while Doflamingo laughs at your reaction.

“H-Hey, stop laughing already and speak!”, you exclaim, “what do you mean with _together_? Are you saying that Diamante and Trebol…that Trebol and Diamante…that they are…”

“…together?”, Doflamingo completes, still snickering, “yes, young lady. That’s what I’m saying. In fact, I thought that you knew about this”

“How the hell I’m going to know something like this?!”, you snap, still assimilating the news, “I mean, they are always fighting, they never agree on anything, and I never seen them… _do_ any stuff that couples do”

“Don’t worry, neither do most part of the Family. In fact, we discovered about this because Pica accidentally saw them do ‘couples stuff’ as you call them one day they thought they were alone. Oh, and if you ask Trebol and Diamante about it they will deny it even if they have been together for almost thirty years. However, it’s easy to know when they will be acting as a couple, since the excuse they always give when going together to is that they have to do something related to the Company”

You stare at Doflamingo still in disbelief.

“So when they didn’t join us in the afternoon shopping to attend a reunion during Christmas…”

Doflamingo chuckles again.

“Exactly. And if you think back, I’m sure you will remember other times with similar excuses”

You exhale a laugh. The funny part was that now that you thought about these two, they actually made a good couple. An extremely weird, bizarre couple, but also a funny one. You smile to yourself. Definitely, the next time they used that excuse you will innocently ask to join them as well. Just to see what face they would make.

After eating the main course, the waiter approaches the table a third time to take note of the dessert, and by when you finish eating it you regret a little not having chosen a looser dress because now it felt way too tight in certain parts.

“So? Verdict of the dinner?”

You smile because Doflamingo’s obviously knew your answer to that question.

“It’s been delicious”, you admit, “although I still think that paying 100$ for a ( **1** ) must mean that it has been made by God himself”

You laugh when your words cause Doflamingo to exhale an extremely patient sigh, and extend your arm over the table to playfully caress Doflamingo’s arm.

“At least you can be sure that I’m not with you because of your money”

Doflamingo snickers, grabbing your hand with a mischievous smile.

“Really? Then why?”

You snort when hearing Doflamingo’s overcasual tone.

“Seems like someone wants to be flattered”

“Oh, come on, (y/n), it’s Valentine’s Day. We are supposed to say cheesy stuff to each other, fu fu fu~”

You roll your eyes, but after exhaling a sigh you nod.

“Okay, you want cheesy stuff? Then brace yourself”

You feel your cheeks burning a little for what you’re going to say but you manage to adopt a firm, confident tone.

“I’m with you because there’s nothing you would _not_ do for your Family, and therefore for me; I’m with you because when I’m having a hard day you’re are able to improve it with just a: ‘ _Young lady, who do I need to kill?_ ’; I’m with you because you let me have my way, like when I wanted to do that mission, even if you would severely punish anyone who dared to disobey a direct order; I’m with you because since the day you blackmailed me to work for you, my life has turned even more funnier than before. And for that reason”, without stopping looking at Doflamingo, whose face hadn’t changed since you had begun to talk, you extract a small wrapped package from your purse and place it on the table just in front of him, “the date that appears in this present is from that day, and not from the day in which we officially began to go out”

When seeing that Doflamingo's expression remains imperturbable, you realize that the man wasn’t expecting at all that you took his petition seriously. In fact, a part of you was prepared for Doflamingo to laugh at your words, but he just grabs the box instead and opens it, revealing a red and small hoop earring.

You bite your bottom lip with nervousness when Doflamingo extracts it from the box and rotates it in order to see the date that has been engraved on the inside of the earring. Damn, what if Viola had been mistaken and this present was way too much? In fact it seemed as if you had given Doflamingo a fucking wedding ring, what if it was too soon to give him a present with the date that you met? That was just five months ago after all!

“I-If you don’t like the design it can be changed”, you say after clearing your throat, “o-or if you simply want another thing I can try to speak with the jewelry to-”

At that moment Doflamingo surprises you by grabbing the back of your neck suddenly and leaning over the table to initiate a passionate kiss that knocks the air out of your lungs. Okay, definitely Doflamingo had liked the present, and probably also your words.

You moan softly before parting your mouth, welcoming Doflamingo’s long tongue inside your cavity. Doflamingo tilts then his head, adopting a better angle to kiss you, but just when you are about to exhale another moan, a soft gasp that doesn’t come from either of you causes you to stop.

“E-Excuse me, sir”, the young waiter that had been attending you is standing there, red as a tomato and looking at Doflamingo in clear fear for having interrupted, “I-I just wanted to remind you that coffee is included in the menu s-so would you like to take it here or-”

Without letting the waiter finish speaking, Doflamingo extracts his wallet from the pocket of his trousers and rapidly extracts three 500 dollar bills from it.

“Keep the change”, he simply orders, leaving the money on the table and standing up from the seat to help you do the same.

After grabbing your respective coats Doflamingo and you abandon the restaurant. You can physically feel the desire that emanates from Doflamingo’s body just for being close to him, and a knot of anticipation settles in your stomach while you approach the limousine with fast steps.

You have barely accommodated in the back seat of the limousine before Doflamingo looms over you to devour you in a mind-blowing kiss that sets your body on fire. Without stopping the kiss you push Doflamingo’s back against his seat to be able to straddle his lap, settling your hands over his shoulders to have more leverage to sensually rock against him.

Doflamingo growls in a low tone heatedly, his hands hooking on your hips to grind up against you. You stop kissing him to gasp when feeling his rock, hard member against your most intimate zone, and he makes the most of your weakness to settle his lips on your exposed neck to suck at it mercilessly.

“Lao G, home. _Now_ ”

The embarrassment that you feel when realizing that Lao G had been just there all the time is soon erased with the next suck Doflamingo gives to your skin, making you soon forget that you weren’t alone on the car.

Lao G diligently fulfills Doflamingo’s order and you are at the manor in half of the time that it took you to arrive at the restaurant.

You abandon the car feeling dizzy already, several marks adorning already your neck, so Doflammingo is the one who practically drags you to your shared bedroom. The door has barely closed behind you too when Doflamingo raises you in the air to press your against the door of the room to keep kissing your senseless.

You whine in need when Doflamingo’s hands slip under your dress with the clear intention of removing your panties to fuck you just then and there, but just then you remember that you had planned something else for the night.

“W-Wait”, you exhale, stopping Doflamingo’s action, “there is still another present that I have to give you for Valentine’s Day”

“And can’t it wait until I finish with you?”

Doflamingo purring those promising words in your ear cause you to almost give in, but you manage to resist the temptation.

“No, it can’t”

When hearing your second negative Doflamingo growls in clear annoyance. You chuckle and grab his face in your hands to make him look at you.

“I promise you’ll like it, so can you please lower me down while I get ready in the bathroom? I’ll come back here in ten minutes at least”

Doflamingo’s previous annoyance has been replaced for curiosity, so he eventually settles you on the floor again, although still with certain reluctance.

“If you haven’t come out in ten minutes, I will go to drag you back here”

You shiver when hearing his sexy threat and after kissing him one last time you rush towards the bathroom, hoping to be able to get everything ready in so little time.

* * *

“Well, hope the wait has been worth it”

You are proud to yourself for being able to say those words with an acceptable seductive voice, because definitely seeing a fully naked Doflamingo half-lying on the bed while posing like a damn model was incredibly distracting, and in fact causes you to end even wetter.

However, you know that the idea of dressing with the outfit ( **2** ) that Doflamingo sent you long ago had been really good for the way Doflamingo’s breath hitches lightly, and for how his member hardens even more against his sinful abs.

You smirk, feeling incredibly glad that your attire was causing Doflamingo to look about to pounce into you at any moment. In fact, Doflamingo attempts to stand up to go towards you, but you stop him by moving negatively your finger.

“Sorry, Doffy, but I need you not to move too much because…”, you show the hand that you have been hiding behind your back while approaching the bed, “…we’ll be using this tonight”

Doflamingo’s brown eyes open more in surprise when seeing the leather straps that you sustain playfully in your hand, but almost immediately a hungry smirk spreads in his handsome face, his eyes glinting now with lust.

“Well, well, young lady”, he purrs with a sex voice that causes the heat in your core get worse, “don’t tell me you are planning to dominate me tonight”

You smirk back, in part aroused and in part relieved that Doflamingo was up to play this game, because you had seriously feared that the man could laugh at your attempt of being the one in control.

“Yes, Doffy”, you finally climb onto the bed, guiding Doflamingo to lie fully against the bed to straddle his lap once again, “that’s exactly what I’ll do”

You realize that while you were in the bathroom Doflamingo has changed one of his earrings for the one you have given him. You smile happily and touch the jewel briefly before leaning down to kiss Doflamingo hardly. You rock down against him and the action causes Doflamingo to groan again in excitation.

“No underwear, huh?”, he says with satisfaction, raising his flexed arms over his head and towards the headboard to allow you to tie his wrists against it with both straps. Fuck, seeing the powerful Doflamingo, the man that so many people feared, allowing _you_ to tie him up so docilely was a bigger turn on that you had expected.

“Just for today”, you admit, stepping momentarily of your seductive attitude before adopting it again for your next sentence, “and now…”, you softly lick Doflamingo’s ear, causing the man to grunt softly under his breath, “…let me take control”

You finish your sentence kissing Doflamingo’s again, slipping his tongue in his mouth to play with his long one. You only stop when feeling that the air is lacking and then proceed with your ministrations even lower.

Your hands shamelessly roam over Doflamingo’s pectorals and abs, the bright red lipsticks that you are now wearing leaving its signature with every open mouthed kiss that you deposit against Doflamingo’s muscular body. You occasionally look up, feeling nervous and excited every time that your (e/c) eyes meet Doflamingo’s brown ones, which were shining with unmistakable lust.

Finally, your mouth reaches Doflamingo’s perfect V shape. You trace it with your tongue, purposely ignoring his thick member in the middle at first, but just when Doflamingo was about to protest you surprise him by darting your tongue from base to tip, causing Doflamingo to let out the louder grunt that you had ever heard him exhale.

“ _(y/n)_ …”

Doflamingo’s voice sounded aroused but also carried a hint of threat, as if warning you not to keep teasing him much longer. A part of you is tempted to disobey and keeping with a slow pace, but the truth was that that you couldn’t wait to have Doflamingo inside you, so you continue licking Doflamingo’s member, making sure to coat it well with your saliva.

After almost a minute you let it go with a pop and proceed to straddle Doflamingo’s waist again. You grab his member to have better leverage and raise your knees to position it against your entrance. A frown appears in Doflamingo’s face and you immediately read what he is thinking.

“I’ve prepared myself in the bathroom”, you answer his unasked question with a playful smile, and then without wasting any other second you begin to lower down over Doflamingo’s girth. 

Despite the preparation, you hiss in a little of pain when Doflamingo’s member slowly pierces you until it’s all the way to the hilt, your (s/l) nails scratching lightly Doflamingo’s tensed abs in the process. You remain with your eyes closed for a moment, getting used to the sensation, and when you open them again you feel a wave of arousal when seeing the way Doflamingo’s is looking at you, with half-lidded eyes that showed undeniable hunger and desire.

You smirk widely, enjoying the sensation of power of having Doflamingo’s under you and at your mercy.

With deliberated slowness you initiate an unhurried movement, flexing slightly your legs up and down. This new position allowed Doflamingo’s shaft to reach even deeper inside you than the other times you had sex, and soon you find yourself moaning even if your rhythm was far from being fast.

“ _Fuck_ ”

Your heart skips a beat that single word escapes from Doflamingo’s lips. It’s the first time that you have heard him sound so _desperate_ , as if he was just slowly coming undone, and damn if you weren’t going to make the most of this opportunity.

Locking your (e/c) eyes with Doflamingo’s you slowly open your shirt while keeping with the calm rides. Doflamingo’s member grows deliciously harder inside you when your shirt opens revealing your breasts, since you had made sure not to wear a bra this time.

You feel your heart beating hard in your chest, embarrassment invading you for a moment for what you were about to do now, but seeing Doflamingo in alert and holding his breath is all the encouragement you need to begin to grope your own breasts delicately with your hands. Doflamingo’s tongue and fingers felt better but you actually moan when using your fingers to caress your nipples, sensing them harden when you pinch them.

You see Doflamingo lick his lips, clearly waiting to use his long tongue on your chest. You feel his hips spasm once in a while with the effort of keeping his promise of not moving at all, but by then you have had enough of that steady pace and decide to go for it, increasing the speed of your movements to the point that the bed begins to creak.

This time Doflamingo actually fights against the straps that restrained him on the bed, his biceps flexing and his broad, taut chest raising and falling in stuttered low pants. He hisses your name in a raspy sexy tone that makes your core itself to twitch, and then you are unable to resist any longer.

You reach down with your dominant hand and sneak it inside your mini-skirt to begin masturbating, keeping your other hand hooked around your breast. Your rhythm begins to fail when your fingers brush against your clit but you make sure to keep a straightened position, not stopping looking at Doflamingo even one second even if your eyes threaten to close at any moment because of the mix of stimulations.

However, you make the mistake of accompanying your rides with moans of Doflamingo’s name without noticing. That seems to be the point of no return for him because at that moment Doflamingo growls your name, turns his hands into fists and with a single powerful movement he tears the straps that were supposedly restraining him on the bed. 

You have just time to stare at his liberated arms in disbelief for a brief second before Doflamingo rolls you over without getting out from you, his bulky body hovering over you predatorily.

“My turn to dominate you, young lady”

You shiver when Doflamingo’s snarls that sentence but your attempt of protest turns into a moan when Doflamingo locks your lips in a hard kiss, pins your arms over your head with just one hand, and begins to pound inside you with fierce passion.

In a matter of seconds you have your eyes shut closed and are crying Doflamingo’s name in unabashed ecstasy, opening your legs lewdly to better welcome Doflamingo’s thick girth inside you. The frenetic rhythms makes your uncovered breasts bounce, so Doflamingo leaves your ravaged lips to capture one of them in his mouth to lick it, suck it, and nip at it, causing you to arch against him. Oh god, his mouth was _so_ much better at this than your fingers.

 “D-Doffy… _aah_ …”, your hands clutch at the mattress on either side of your head when Doflamingo liberates them to begin to rub your clit while keeping mouthing your breasts with hunger, causing tears of pleasure appear on the corner of your closed eyes, “oh god yes… _yes_ …Doffy, _YES_!”

Groaning in a way that makes your whole body shiver Doflamingo leaves your chest to devour your mouth once again, his now erratic and harder thrusts announcing his imminent orgasm. You enclose an arm around Doflamingo’s back and hold onto him, grabbing his firm ass with your other hand to press him more against you, encouraging him to keep fucking you in lost abandon.

Your mouth are still connected in a dirty, French-kiss when Doflamingo throws you towards your climax together with him, your entrance quivering when feeling his hot release exploding inside you.

You are still fighting to recover your breath when Doflamingo gets out from you to lie next to your side.

“One question…”, you begin with a breathless voice, “…you were… just pretending… not being able to move, right?”

Doflamingo snickers and gets closer to you, setting his arm over your waist.

“Certainly I could have freed myself since the beginning if I had tried, but I preferred to see what you had in mind while thinking that I was totally defenseless, fu fu fu~.”

You snort because not for even one second you had thought that the man was defenseless. It was Doflamingo after all.

“Well, at least I have finally fulfilled your first petition of dressing like this for you”, you signal what it remained from your outfit, causing Doflamingo to chuckle.

“Yes, and as I thought, the outfit looked really well on you”

You smile while blushing when seeing that Doflamingo meant what he said and kiss the man briefly.

“The earring looks good on you too”, you touch the new jewel that Doflamingo is wearing on his ear, “I will thank Viola tomorrow first time in the morning”

 “Oh, now that you have mentioned the present...”, Doflamingo incorporates a little and retrieves something from the night-stand drawer, “this is for you”

You take with a confused frown the envelope that Doflamingo is offering you.

“Please, (y/n), don’t tell me that you thought that a simple dinner was my only present”

You think to yourself that a 1500$ dinner wasn’t ‘simple’ in the least. Trying not to break the envelope too much you open it, and your eyes open wide when seeing the content.

“These are your plane tickets to spend a whole week in Dressrosa”, Doflamingo explains with a grin, “I was wondering what to give you as a present, but when you mentioned the other day that you were missing some holidays at the beach it was decided”

You stare at the tickets and Doflamingo alternatively before exhaling a nervous laugh. Damn, your present was a little shitty compared to this, but you decide not to say that because you had the feeling that Doflamingo would get angry in case of you said so.

“Oh, damn”, you look at the tickets again and then you get pale, “according to the dates we are leaving this same Monday”

“Yes”

“Oh, shit, then I can’t go”, you say with frustration, “the second semester is about to start and I can’t miss these first classes no matter what”

“Don’t worry, (y/n), you semester won’t begin until you come back”

You blink a couple of times before your eyes widen.

“Wait a moment, don’t tell me that you…”

“…have gone to speak to the rector of the University and he has been kind enough to attend to reasons and delay the semester starting date. You can check the updated calendar of the master if you don’t believe me”

After recovering you still shake your head.

“But wouldn’t it be better to wait until summer to go the beach? After all it’s just February…”

“Dressrosa has a tropical weather all the year, so it would be as if we were in June when we are there”

“But what about my job at the shop?”, you insist, with less and less conviction.

“Well, considering that Corazon and Trafalgar are also coming I don’t see any problem here”

“Oh, so the whole Family is coming?!”, you exclaim with such enthusiasm that Doflamingo begins to laugh.

“And here I was all afraid that you preferred a romantic trip just for the two of us”

“Nah, the more the better, and I’m sure the Family won’t mind if we suddenly decide to spend some time just the two of use”

“Fu fu fu, you’re right, (y/n). And besides”, Doflamingo surprises you by suddenly crawling over you, accommodating between your legs once again, “there will be plenty of opportunities of getting lost on a solitary beach to enjoy some private time”

Doflamingo slowly darts his tongue down your neck, causing you to whine when he begins to lick one of the multiple marks he had left there.

You are about to let Doflamingo kiss you but at the last moment you stop him by speaking.

“One question: can I ask you to invite someone else to these holidays?”

Doflamingo raises a curious eyebrow.

“It depends. Who do you have in mind?”

Doflamingo’s eyes open funnily wide for a moment when hearing your answer, before falling half-closed again in suspicion.

“(y/n), what are you planning to do by inviting _him_?”

You look at him innocently.

“Nothing. I just thought that he could enjoy spending some time with his family as well”

Doflamingo stares at you for some long seconds before exhaling a resigned sigh.

“Alright, young lady, I’ll make sure to arrange it, but you will be in charge of dealing with _her_ when she finds out”

You smile happily at Doflamingo before forcing his head down to resume his previous passionate kiss.

Definitely, holidays at Dressrosa promised to be really interesting.

\-----

 **(1)** **A/N** : Insert the meal you want here :P Once I mentioned ‘ham croquettes’ and a reader told me that he/she was a pescatarian and just ate fish meat xDD

 **(2) A/N:[This](https://static1.funidelia.com/55096-f4_large/woman-s-fever-sexy-secretary-costume.jpg)**  is the outfit Doffy sent to (y/n) in chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if anyone was expecting the new future pairs and I hope you have liked them xDD
> 
>  **Spoiler of the next chapter:** holidays at Dressrosa beach ;)


	23. Holidays at Dressrosa - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the title of the chapter is self-explanatory :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](http://www.pinewaterplantation.com/images/category_6/Bathing%20Beauty%20TwoPiece%20Swimsuit%20in%20Red%20red%2080%20Nylon%2020%20Spandex%20Hand%20wash%20%20Item%20No%20%2027262%20VXWDZKJ.jpg) is the swimsuit that I think (y/n) would wear :P

“Nee, Lao G, nee, can you let me pilot the plane, neeee?!”

“Of course he _isn’t_ going to let you”

 “My apolo-G-ies Trebol but Diamante is ri-G-ht: no one wants to die today”

“Then maybe we should convince Gladius to leave his weapons at home, iiiiin”

“No way! We always must be prepared for the worst”

“And what could exactly require to use dynamite?!”

“Pica, don’t speak so loud: it’s 6 in the morning and Sugar is still sleeping!”

“Too late, Jora: she has waken up already and…Baby 5, why are you crying?”

“S-S-Sai has just messaged me, Buffalo!! He has told me to have a good trip and that he would be marrying me when I come back ♥!!”

“Baby 5, I think that you have just made up that part: I don’t think Sai is hard-boiled enough to tell you that yet”

“Kyahahaha! That man doesn’t know where he is getting into- _yuuuuck_! Damn, Sugar, don’t drool in my t-shirt!”

“Dellinger, _ssssh_! She is asleep again, so don’t shout”

“But Viola-”

“ _No buts_!”

“Alright, Cora-san: I’ve definitely underestimated your family’s craziness”

You begin to laugh when hearing Law mutter that while stepping inside Doflamingo’s private plane, followed by Corazon, Rebecca and you.

“I really hope that the weather in Dressrosa is hot because I haven’t brought one single jacket”, Rebecca comments, struggling to put her bag inside the overhead bin until Corazon hurries to help her while Law does the same with you.

“Don’t worry, it is”, Corazon reassures her, “Doffy and I lived there for some months when we were children and the tropical weather didn’t change for even one day”

“Hey, now that you’ve mention it: I really want to see pictures of you two when you were little”, you say while removing the sweater that you’ve been wearing outside before taking a seat on the leather sofa next to Rebecca ant Law, “I asked Doffy some time ago but he refused to show me any”

Corazon chuckles.

“Okay, I promise I’ll search for them when we come back”, Corazon takes a seat on the corner of the sofa next to Law, “but by the way, where is Doffy?”

You don’t need to answer because at that precise moment the plane’s door opens and Doflamingo steps inside. He was still wearing a suit but his look was more informal, and you have to suppress a sigh because damn if you didn’t _love_ when he wore his shirts with the first buttons loose, allowing you to see the hint of his muscular pectorals.

“Alright, we are now ready to go”, Doflamingo announces, “but first say hello to our improvised guest”

Everyone but you fixes their attention towards the plane door, but the murmurs of surprise are immediately erased by a particular enthusiastic shout.

“ _DAD_!!”

The sofa where you are sitting trembles a little because of Rebecca’s emphasis when leaving it to run towards the door and jump over the newcomer’s arms.

“You idiot, why haven’t you told me that you were coming?!”, Rebecca snaps with a cute offended frown that causes Kyros to laugh.

“Sorry, kiddo, but until yesterday I wasn’t sure about my boss letting me take this holidays, and when he eventually agreed I thought that it would be funny to give you a little surprise”

You suppress a smile, because even if Kyros didn’t know it had been Doflamingo the one who had _convinced_ Kyros’ boss to let him go. Father and daughter keep with their animated talk but you miss it because your attention flies first to Doflamingo, who after dedicating you one of his typical smirks promptly disappears to the main cabin with Lao G, and second to a certain member of the Donquixote Family who is staring at Kyros with her mouth hanging open in utter disbelief, and who gulps in obvious nervousness when the man focus his attention on her.

“Viola?”, Kyros stares at Viola with surprise, “wow, how many years have been? Three? Four?”

“F-Four, I think”, Viola stands up from her seat in an uncharacteristic clumsy way to face Kyros in a more or less equal level, although he was quite taller than her, “I’m sorry, the last times that I went home you were with your tourist guides and I was just able to see Rebecca”

“It’s okay, I know how busy you’ve been this last years”, Kyros smiles warmly, “but it’s glad to see you. I’ve missed you”

Viola turns bright red when hearing the last part of the sentence but fortunately Rebecca breaks the light tension that falls next by grabbing Kyros by his arm and dragging him further inside the plane.

“Hey, dad, come here: I’m going to finally introduce you to my best friend”

Before Rebecca practically forces her father to sit on the sofa (that was beginning to become too small for so many people) you can feel Viola’s gaze on you, and although the woman doesn’t make any attempt of approaching, you know that you would have to face her when you finally arrived at your destination. After all, Doflamingo already warned you that bringing Kyros had been your idea and that he didn’t plan to ‘ _deal with that woman’s rage_ ’, as he had literally said.

You spend the full two hours and half of the whole trip talking animatedly to Rebecca, Kyros, Corazon and Law, and although you would have liked to pay Doflamingo a little visit you were honestly scared of crossing the aisle and find Viola’s orange intense eyes digging in you, so you eventually decided to wait until arriving at Dressrosa to spend time with Doflamingo. And yes, you were a coward, but if Doflamingo himself sometimes preferred not to discuss with Viola, the woman definitely deserved to be feared.

When the plane safely lands and everyone descends to the ground you discover that neither Doflamingo nor Corazon had exaggerated when saying that the weather was tropical, because it was almost impossible to believe that it was just mid-February. 

However, you don’t have time to worry about how sweaty you are ending even if you have just been a couple of minutes outside, because when you enter the airport you and the Family end literally surrounded by a score of journalist with gigantic cameras and micros that hurriedly begin to ask several things to the Family. You deeply admire the way the Family condescendingly ignore the questions and the blinding flashes that are thrown towards their direction, so you make sure to stay in the middle of the Family with Rebecca, trying not to draw too much attention.

Despite that, at some point someone suddenly grabs your arm and drags you in front of a camera and a micro to begin to ask a string of questions.

“Just a moment of your time, please”, an old woman that tries to look way younger than she really is begins to speak with an irritating high-pitched voice, “are you perhaps Doflamingo’s new girl? Could you please tell us how is it for a common girl to date one of the most powerful multimillionaires of the world who, besides, ended among the top ten most handsome men of the year?”

Until that moment you had been feeling a little overwhelmed for attracting so much attention, but after hearing the woman’s questions you adopt a straighten posture while removing the sunglasses that you have been wearing.

“No, lady, I am not ‘ _Doflamingo’s new girl_ ’ but (y/n)(l/n), Donquixote Doflamingo’s _girlfriend_ , and until you learn to address me using my name with respect, I’m afraid I won’t be answering neither yours nor anyone’s questions. Thank you”

You offer an outstanding charming smile to the woman who is now looking at you with a dumbfounded expression and join the rest of the Family, now making sure to walk next to Doflamingo with all the determination that you can gather, causing the man’s perpetual smirk to grow.

“Well, well, seems like someone isn’t as afraid of drawing attention anymore”

You smirk back at Doflamingo, enclosing your arm around the one he is offering you.

“Practice makes perfect”, you simply say, daring you to show a victory sign and an exaggerated duck-face pose for the next photographer that points their cameras at you, not minding that much anymore if the fate of that picture was the front page of a magazine.

* * *

Even if you had seen pictures of Doflamingo’s manor in Dressrosa, seeing it in person was completely different: it looked way more majestic and the views were incredibly awesome, since the manor had been built at the top of a scary-looking cliff which allowed to see the entire island.

You are so busy observing the scenery after stepping out of the jeep that had carried you to the manor that you just realize that your jaw is hanging open in awe when Doflamingo playfully settles his index finger under your chin to close your mouth.

“For your reaction I deduce that you are a little impressed”

You exhale a nervous chuckle while blushing lightly.

“You know when that woman has asked me before how it felt to go out with you?”, you adopt your previous dumbfounded expression on purpose, “I think that this face accurately explains it”

“Fu fu fu~. Well, it’s just as I told you before”, Doflamingo encloses an arm around your back while guiding you towards the manor, “you’ll just feel that way until you get used to this lifestyle, and when you do you will be surely acting like that”

Doflamingo signals with his chin at the rest of the members of the Family that were just entering the manor while keeping with their previous conversations and discussions as if being in such a place was an everyday thing. Even Rebecca looked completely at ease, talking animatedly with her father. You sigh. Definitely, you should get used already to the new luxuries of being part of the Family, although at least you weren’t the only one in feeling a little out of place because Law looked as impressed as you while following Corazon inside the manor.

Just when you are going to enter too, Doflamingo’s mobile begins to sound.

“Work?”, you ask when seeing a frown appear on Doflamingo’s face.

“It seems so”, after a brief pause Doflamingo talks again, “okay, young lady, I think the Family is going to the pool, so go to get changed and I will join you after taking care of this”

You are surprised when hearing Doflamingo because his usual reaction was to never answer a call when he was on holidays, but well, it probably just meant that the call had to be _really_ important, so you simply nod.

“Okay, workalcoholic. Just don’t make us wait too much”, you say with a playful smile before finally entering the manor.

Saying that the place was huge was an understatement, so you rapidly approach Jora so that she indicated you what Doflamingo’s room was. You climb up the stairs just to find Corazon and Law leaving one of the rooms, both wearing already a swimsuit, flip flops, and a loose t-shirt, but you barely pay attention to their attire because your eyes focus exclusively on Corazon’s face.

“Oh my god”

Corazon begins to laugh, and again it takes you a little to notice that Law is pointing at you with his mobile, probably taking a picture of your stunned expression.

“I told you that her face was going to be priceless”

“What’s wrong, (y/n)-ya”, okay, Law was probably making a video because he was still pointing at you with his mobile, “maybe you have never seen Cora-san without make-up?”

You open and close your mouth a couple of times, as if you were a fish out of water, thinking to yourself that right now Corazon looked a lot more like Doflamingo. Of course, Corazon was undeniable hot with make-up, but you were surprised to discover that without it he was even more…

“…handsome”

You realize that you have said the last part aloud when Corazon suddenly blushes and Law coughs in a rather lame attempt to hide a laugh.

“W-What?”, you say in a defensive tone even if you feel your cheeks reddening a little too, “I’ve just stated a fact: no one can’t deny that Corazon is handsome, it’s objectively true, right?”

“Well, Cora-san, what do you think about your employee’s opinion?”

“L-Law, stop with the video already”, Corazon snaps, trying to put a hand over Law’s mobile while turning even redder than before, but Law successfully avoids it and keep recording.

“And here we can see that Cora-san is as bad at taking compliments as always”

You can’t help to laugh when Corazon half-closes his eyes at his boyfriend in a theoretically threatening way.

“Don’t worry, I won’t show this to anyone”, Law says with a wink, finally stopping the recording.

“No!”, you turn to Corazon and join your hands in a plea, “please, Corazon, please, you have to let me take a picture of you like this: Barto and Cavendish would love to see it”

Corazon sighs when you rapidly extract your mobile, but there was smile on his face when saying a resigned: “Next time I will bring water-proof make-up”

After saying goodbye to the happy pair (and after taking some photos of Corazon without make-up) you finally enter Doflamingo’s bedroom, leave your bag on the bed and begin to unpack what you were going to need in the pool.

You have just undressed and are about to put your bikini on when suddenly the door opens without warning, causing you to curse in surprise when seeing Viola entering without knocking.

“V-Viola?”, you hurriedly cover yourself with the towel that you have just left on the bed even if the action itself is a little stupid because you don’t have anything that Viola hasn’t (at least, as far as you knew), “w-what happens? Is there something wron-?”

Viola approaches you with such vehemence that you are about to end sitting on the bed. The woman stops when she is just in front of you, crossing her arms tightly in front of her chest.

“Yes, of course it is something wrong”, you gulp when Viola half-closes her eyes at you, “why is Kyros here? I know that the idea of bringing him can’t have come from Doffy because in all these years he had never invited him to any events, so it must be _you_ the one who has asked him to do it, am I right?”

You suppress the urge of gulping again and try to keep calm. Definitely, telling Viola the truth was not an option. First, Viola had been keeping her feelings for Kyros hidden for too many years, there was no way that she would suddenly thank you for wanting to pair them together, and second and most important, you still didn’t know what Kyro’s opinion about Viola was: maybe at the end Kyros didn’t have any romantic interest towards her, _but_ in case Kyros actually felt the same way about Viola, there was no way that you would let pass the opportunity to put them together, and in order to do that you had to observe them together before taking action.

“(y/n), I’m waiting”

Viola’s sharp tone makes you nervous but your (e/c) eyes meet her orange ones with confidence. Thank goodness that you had been clever enough to have an excuse prepared beforehand.

“Look, I know that it looks like I have asked Doffy to bring Kyros to pair you two up”

Viola’s frown is replaced by a skeptic raised eyebrow.

“And you haven’t done it for that?”

You shake your head.

“Actually, Rebecca had been wanting to go on holidays with her father since a while, because the last time they were able to go somewhere together was almost two years ago because of their schedules”, you internally give yourself a win when Viola’s face softens, “so I just thought that she would be happy if Kyros came along”, you dare to settle your hand over Viola’s shoulder amicably while adopting a you-hope-credible apologetic tone, “I’m sorry, I know that him being here is hard for you, but Rebecca was wanting to see him so badly that-”

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s okay”, you are about to sigh in relief when Viola’s tone comes back to be her usual kind one, “I told you already that I’m pretty fine with our current relationship, so if he is here for Rebecca then it’s perfect with me”, Viola looks at you with embarrassment, “I’m sorry, I immediately assumed that you wanted to play the matchmaker and assaulted you without thinking”

You really hope that your laugh doesn’t sound as nervous as it sounds in your ears.

“Don’t worry about it”, you smile nonchalantly, “you just scared me to death a little, but I’m cool after knowing you aren’t going to kill me”, _not yet, at least_.

After an already calmed (and deceived) Viola helps you tying your new bikini you put some sun cream before grabbing your things and going to the swimming pool situated in the enormous inner yard that was accessed by the one of the doors of the entrance.

You open the door that leaded outside once again and immediately you feel enveloped by the usual ruckus that characterized the Donquixote Family. All the members are already there. Some of them were resting on the grass area that surrounded the immense pool, like Jora, who was with Dellinger and Sugar forcing them to wait until entering the water despite their protest, Lao G, who was doing some weird Yoga poses, the Executives, who were playing cards as usual, or Corazon and Law, that were lying facing down in the same towel with the t-shirts still on while talking to each other.  The rest however were already in the pool area: Baby 5 was sitting on the edge of the pool with her legs inside the water while talking to Buffalo, who was in the water wearing a patience expression on his face that indicated you that Baby 5 was probably rambling about Sai; Gladius and Machvise were having some kind of competition, swimming like crazy from one side of the pool to the other; and Senor Pink was simply floating in the water while wearing very colored arm bands.

“(y/n)!”, when seeing you Baby 5 waves her hand towards you enthusiastically, “sit here with me!! I need advice to begin to prepare my wedding with Sai!!”

“I’m going”, you greet back with a smile, leaving your things on the grass before approaching the edge of the pool, looking around with a frown, “wait, where is Becc- _AAAAH_!””

Your question ends with an undignified sound when suddenly someone pushes you rudely from behind making you fall into the water with a big splash.

You emerge some seconds later while coughing to see supposedly best friend waving your hand mockingly at you.

“B- _Becca…_ ”

The fact that you are stuttering plays down the threat in your voice.

“Sorry, (y/n), forgive me”, Rebecca begins to say still between laughs, stepping backwards when seeing you swim rapidly towards the edge of the pool, “but you were so unaware that it’s been a tempatio- _AAAH_!!”

You being to run after Rebecca while she tries to avoid you circling the pool, but despite her cries for help no one comes to her rescue and after some minutes you finally manage to catch her and throw it into the pool together with you.

You and Rebecca emerge again laughing just when Kyros appears.

“Dad, (y/n) has just pushed me into the water, say something!”

You are about to reply offended that she had begun but Kyros seemed to know his daughter very well because he looks at her with a ‘ _Really_?’ expression that causes Rebecca to pout cutely and you to begin to laugh.

After some moments you had gotten used already to the cold water, so you approach the edge of the pool that was closest to where Law and Corazon are. Corazon is still lying on the towel facing up, but Law had removed already his t-shirt, leaving his tattoos on full display, and is sitting on the towel with his legs crossed and extended in front of him, leaning back over his flexed arms in a pose that was objectively sexy.

“Hey, doctor”, Law’s attention focus on you when hearing the already familiar appellative, “aren’t you going to enter the water?”

Law smiles but shakes his head.

“Sorry, (y/n)-ya, but I don’t particularly like cold so I’m fine just where I am”

Immediately after hearing his words, a grin spreads in your face and you see the doctor get pale.

“Wait, (y/n)-ya, don’t you dare to-”

Law’s warning falls on deaf ears and you begin to splash water towards him, and even if they were too far away to end too drenched it’s enough to make both Law and Corazon to shout when some cold water manages to fall on them.

The Family, you included, begins to laugh when the two men rapidly stand up from their spot trying to avoid your attacks.

“Well, well”, your heart skips a little beat when Corazon fixes his brown eyes on you with a grin that made him look incredibly similar to Doflamingo, “so that is how things are, (y/n)”

You laugh nervously.

“Sorry, Corazon, I promise you have been a collateral damage: I just intended to splash Law and-”

You shut up at once when in one fluid motion Corazon removes his t-shirt, and you are barely able to notice that his sculpted chest was covered in several scars because at that moment Corazon rapidly approaches the edge of the pool with the clear intention of diving head first into the water…

…and probably the movement would have been awesome if Corazon hadn’t slipped at the last second, resulting in him falling flat on the water with a shriek.

“Oh my god”, you exclaim, unable to prevent your own laughter when seeing Law bent over with all his body shaking in a ready suspicious way, “Corazon, are you okay?”

You swim towards the place Corazon has fallen, but just when you are midway you feel two hands grabbing your waist and you manage to hold your breath just in time when they pull you down inside the water.

You emerge seconds later with a gasp and when you open your eyes you appear in front of a little disappointed Corazon.

“Tsk, I haven’t taken you by surprise”

“Oh, you have, Cora-san”, Law says mockingly, “neither of us was expecting such a graceful way of entering the water”

Corazon slowly turns to look at his boyfriend, who looks back at him with a fake innocent expression.

“(y/n)…”, Corazon begins without stopping glaring at Law, “…what about a truce after we manage to put Law in the water?”

Law gets pale again.

“O-Oi…”

“Deal!!”

By when Law recovers you were already stepping out of the pool to go catch the doctor. You manage to grab his arm but despite his lean appearance Law was way stronger than you, so you are just able to keep the doctor more or less in place until Corazon steps out the water, grabs Law princess style and jumps again into the pool with Law covering his nose with one hand.

“I hate you”, Law stutters when they emerge, causing Corazon to chuckle.

“No, you don’t”, he replies, pinning Law against the edge of the pool to kiss him fiercely, causing Law’s annoyance to evaporate while kissing back with equal enthusiasm.

“Little brother, if you and your doctor dirty the Family’s swimming pool in any way, you will have to pay for it~”

You immediately fix your attention towards the door, where Doflamingo is standing wearing a swimsuit with vivid orange, yellow and pink motives. He was also wearing a linen white shirt completely unbuttoned, which left his upper front completely exposed as you liked (and probably any woman or gay person in the world), and obviously his sunglasses could not be absent this time.

“What’s wrong, (y/n)?”, Doflamingo says mockingly when seeing you shamelessly staring at him, “maybe have you frozen because the water is too cold?”

You roll your eyes, feigning annoyance while finally approaching him.

“Nope, just admiring the views”, you say playfully before hugging him, sighing in content when feeling his warm body against your colder one.

“Fu fu fu~. I kind of feel like a heater right now, young lady”

You laugh at his choice of words, raising your face to look at his smirking face.

“Your fault for being so warm”, you snap back before tiptoeing so that he could kiss you a little more easily.

After that Doflamingo leads you towards a deck chair that was big enough so that you two could sit on it comfortably. You position yourself between Doflamingo’s parted and flexed legs, leaning your back against his front and your elbows over his knees.

“Comfortable?”, Doflamingo says with amusement, putting his hand under his chin with his elbow on the chair arm.

“Yep”, you turn your head towards him and deposit a brief kiss on his chin, “the call has gone well then?”

For a brief second you think to have felt Doflamingo tense a little against you, but since Doflamingo’s smirk doesn’t falter a millimeter when answering next, you eventually tell yourself that you should have imagined it

“Yes, it has, so no more work for the rest of this week at least”

You smile back before leaning your head against his chest. You remain in comfortable silence for some moments, simply observing the rest of the Family having fun in its usual loud way: Sugar and Dellinger had somehow managed to convince Jora that they could enter the pool already and now Senor Pink was in process of putting another pair of arm bands on Sugar, Lao G had joined Machvise and Gladius competition and was swimming by crying new attacks, Corazon and Law had come back to make out like a pair of teenagers now that Doflamingo wasn’t teasing them anymore, and you can barely contain a chuckle when eavesdropping the discussion that Diamante and Trebol were having.

“Nee, nee, Diamante, why can’t I enter the water yet, neee?!”

“I already told you twice: you have just eaten half a dozen of sandwiches, if you enter now you’re going to get a stomach cramp”

“But it’s too hot in here, neee! I’m going to die with so much sun, nee!”

“Damn it, come here: use this umbrella”

“Behehehe! Thanks, Diamante, nee!!”

You find yourself smiling when seeing Diamante moving a little aside to let Trebol sit next to him.

“Damn, they are too obvious once you know that they are together”, you comment, making Doflamingo chuckle.

“By the way, young lady, how’s your Casanova operation going?”

“Weeell, as you warned me, Viola immediately suspected that I had something to do with Kyros’ invitation, but I managed to convince her that I had just done it for Becca”, you exhale a long sigh, “now I just have to find out if Kyros feels the same way about her or not”

“Well, I think you are going to find out soon”

Doflamingo points with his chin at some point of the pool and when you follow it you see that Viola has finally joined the rest. She was wearing a violet bikini that didn’t leave much to the imagination and that indeed it seemed to accentuate a little more her attributes. Also, instead of wearing her hair pulled back as usual, she was wearing a side braid that looked really good on her.

You look at her briefly but you rapidly search for Kyros to see if you can catch his reaction in time. From the position you are you can just see the right side of his face, but that is enough so that you can notice the light blush that had appeared on his cheeks and ears when seeing Viola appear, and the way he gulps doesn’t go unnoticed by you either.

However, all your doubts about Kyros probably liking Viola vanish when you see Rebecca staring at her father and her aunt alternatively before a knowing smile appears on her face.

“Okay, it’s official”, you say with determination, “Casanova operation is on”

“Fu fu fu~. So what now? Are you going to talk to Rebecca to begin the C.O.”

You laugh when hearing the acronym.

“Yes, but later. Now I want to swim a little more, are you coming?”

“Of course. But before”, Doflamingo searches briefly into his bag situated next to the chair and extracts a little bottle that, for a moment, makes your hear skip a beat, “(y/n), relax, it’s not _that_ but sun cream. I just wanted to ask you if you can help with it, fu fu fu~”

You blush intensely when Doflamingo deservedly laughs at you, and rudely take the bottle from his hand.

“Shut up and let me sit behind you”

You stand up briefly and after Doflamingo (sexily) removes his linen shirt you sit down behind him in the chair, your legs now extended on either side of his body. You uncap the little bottle, pour a little in your hand, and begin to apply it to Doflamingo’s powerful shoulder blades in rotating movements.

You feel your stomach tighten a little when Doflamingo softly groans after you being to apply the cream as if you were giving him a massage. You bite your bottom lip in anticipation before leaning forward to approach your lips to Doflamingo’s ear.

“Be careful not to _react_ as much as the last time”

You smirk when you fake innocent comment causes Doflamingo’s back to tense a little, but you can’t enjoy his reaction as much as you’d have likedbecause, without knowing very well how, you find yourself straddling Doflamingo’s lap at the next second while he leans against the chair, his hands hooked on the back of your thighs to secure you and a predatory, hot smile adorning his face.

“Like this it would be easier, don’t you think?”

You were about to say that he was probably leaving the cream that you had just applied stuck on the chair, but the heated glance Doflamingo was dedicating you through his glasses lets you know that the last thing in his mind was that the cream actually fulfilled its purpose, so you decide to play his game.

“Yes, it is”, you say, returning the smile while pouring some more cream on your hand.

With excessive slowness you begin to work on Doflamingo’s hard pectorals, settling your hands on them to initiate a circular, soothing movement in order to apply the cream better. You bite your bottom lip not to let out any suspicious sounds when feeling the taut muscles under your hands moving up and down in rhythm with Doflamingo’s breathing, that was just a little uneven. You make your hands travel up to also apply the cream to Doflamingo’s strong neck, your eyes meeting his through his glasses to find them glued on you.

Feeling your heart race because of the undeniable sexual tension that was surrendering you both right now, you continue with your ministrations lower again, making sure to grasp lightly in the process Doflamingo’s skin with your (s/l) nails, in that way you knew it aroused him, until reaching his defined six-pack.

This time, you have to bite hard on your bottom lip when the last action causes Doflamingo’s member to harden a little and twitch under your own lower half, his fingers digging more on your thighs. You look at Doflamingo again just in time to see him using his long tongue to lick his bottom lip in clear hunger, and that’s when something clicks inside your head and without even thinking you subtly buck your hips down, grinding against his hard flesh in a single movement that takes Doflamingo by surprise, causing him to groan lowly in his throat.

You blush, finally remembering that you are not alone and that surely the closest member of the Donquixote Family could have heard Doflamingo groan, but you forget about it shortly when Doflamingo incorporates fast as lightning to devour your mouth, his hands passing to grab your ass possessively while pressing you down against him.

You gladly accept the intrusion of Doflamingo’s tongue in your mouth, which helps to muffle the moans that are about to escape your mouth for the not-so-subtle frottage that is now taking place between his clothed member and your more intimate zone, causing your core to twitch in want, suddenly desiring less layers of clothing between you two. You enclose your arms against his strong neck, tilting your head to the side to allow him to kiss you even better and-

_SPLASH!_

Your heated make-out session with Doflamingo comes to an abrupt end when a cascade of cold water falls down on you two, making you gasp loudly in surprise while Doflamingo curses. Still in Doflamingo’s lap you dry your eyes and your mouth falls opened when seeing Corazon next to you, sustaining the bucket that until some minutes ago was full with drinks and offering you two a mischievous smile that clearly indicated who was the culprit of the sudden shower.

“Sorry, big brother, but you needed to cool off or were going to stain the Family’s chair deck”, Corazon offers you then an angelical smile, “and sorry, (y/n), I promise you have been a collateral damage”

Despite you were shivering you being to laugh when hearing Corazon’s words, joining the laughter that came from the rest members of the Family.

Doflamingo doesn’t say anything. He simply removes his also wet glasses, lets them on the table next to you two, and after gently letting you on the floor he turns towards his brother with a dangerous smile on his face.

“Oh, little brother, you are so dead right now”

The next thing it happens is that you are running towards your belongings to hurriedly extract your mobile. After all you could have just been cockblocked by your ex-crush, but like hell if you were going to miss the opportunity to record the theoretically grown-up Donquixote Brothers playing catch around the pool and competing to see who was the first one that fell into the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, the chapter was getting too long and I’ve decided to divide it in two so that the next update wouldn’t take that long :)


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